Mixed Blessings
by toledo girl
Summary: A sequel to 'Gabrielle'. House and Cuddy should have it the perfect life now since they both finally have what they want, but they find that sometimes what is less than perfect can be more valuable.
1. Say Mommy

Chapter 1: Say Mommy

Gabrielle, now sixteen, made her way down the stairs with Rachel in her arms. Her once blonde hair, now black with red highlights, cut short in layers. "Mommy's gonna be happy with her clean little girl now isn't she?" Gabrielle said as she got to the floor and walked over to join her dad on the couch. "Well, she's eaten and bathed and everything."

"Good," House said and then looked over from the television. He had legally adopted the little baby as soon as they had all returned from Hawaii, and had since been working on being closer to her. He took her from Gabrielle's hands and set her down on his good leg. He then looked over at Gabrielle and raised his eyebrow. "You think you could go put on more eyeliner? Your face isn't quite pale enough."

Gabrielle gave him the finger and then sat down next to him. "Did Lisa tell you when she was going to be home tonight? I 'm kinda wanting dinner soon," she said.

House, who had started to tickle the little girl, looked up and over at Gabrielle. "She didn't tell me where the meeting was at, let alone when it ended," he said. Gabrielle just raised her eyebrow to him. "She's over at the meeting room that was rented out in the Holiday Inn. There was no saying when it would end."

"That sounds more like you," Gabrielle said. She sat back and thought for a minute. "Maybe you should cook tonight, she'll love you for it, and so will my stomach."

House turned his attention back to Rachel. "Why don't you ever say anything to her? I've noticed you never hesitate to criticize me."

Gabrielle laughed. "Yeah, because you obviously take everything said to heart."

House turned to her with mock sadness and ran his finger from the corner of his eye down his cheek. "You cut my soul."

"What soul?" she jokingly asked.

"That thing that you religious freaks seem to care about so much," House said. "Which I don't know why you waste time on that, you are some what smart."

"What else did I have to turn to?" she asked as she stood up. She grabbed Rachel and started to carry her to her playpen.

House sighed. "You know, you never did answer my question."

"About the cooking?" she asked as she set Rachel down. "I don't feel like being a little brat," she said as she stood up and turned to House. "Besides, she's trying and she would take it personally and neither of us would get a break for weeks." She started to walk back to the couch but stopped as soon as she had heard Rachel.

"Mommy!" she squealed.

Gabrielle cringed and closed her eyes. "Did she just?"

House laughed. "Oh yeah. I bet that telling her that she's a bad cook sounds good right now."

"Darn it," she hissed and then turned back to Rachel.

"Oh, now you wanna watch your language," House said.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Well how often do I say M-O-M-M-Y? And she obviously picked up on that!"

House stood up and limped over. "You know, this'll get her. Maybe every time you're with Lisa, you can make sure to be standing behind her or something for a while to make her think that the kid's referring to her. Then when the twins are born, she'll be too busy and tired to even notice who Rachel's talking to." 

Gabrielle slightly shrugged as she thought over the idea. "What happens in a couple weeks when I go back to school though?"

"She's older, she's smaller, and she's carrying twins, how much longer do you think she's going to last?" House asked. He sighed and went out into the kitchen.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and leaned over the playpen. Rachel called her 'mommy' again, which caused Gabrielle to instantly drop her head in defeat. Raising her head back up, she smiled down at Rachel, there was the chance that she could teach her something else. "Say, Gab. Come on, you can do it, Gab!"

"You really think that's going to work?" House called out from the kitchen.

Gabrielle completely ignored him and went back to Rachel. It was obvious that this was a failed attempt, but she did feel bad that Rachel had just called her mommy. She had been watching Rachel a lot lately and figured that since she would say that her mommy would be there soon and things similar to that, that that was why.

The door opened and Cuddy walked in. She was seven and a half months pregnant now. Closing the door behind her, she walked over to the couch and sat down to take her shoes off.

Gabrielle turned around and slightly smiled. "That bad of a day?" she asked upon see her facial expression.

Cuddy sighed and sat back. "One of my nurses wrote down the wrong blood type for one of the patients so the doctor gave her the wrong blood and that almost killed her. I would say that it was just an accident but this is the second time she has done this. Once more and she's fired. Then I had a meeting with the board because they claim that I'm slipping! They're blaming the last few screw ups on me! No, of course it's never any of the doctors that almost get us sued! It's me!"

"Maybe you should just take a small vacation," Gabrielle suggested.

Cuddy glared over at her. "Another thing, tell your father that when he's at work, he cannot just come into my office at any time when there are former patients of his that have a complaint against him and kiss me right there! Now they think that the only reason I don't discipline him is because we're engaged!"

"Maybe I was feeling lonely! What ever happened to my needs?" House called out as he entered the living room. "Besides, they don't know we're engaged, they figured out that we're dating though."

"Damn it Greg! Now they're going to go get me in trouble for nepotism!" she started.

"Both of you! Shut up!" Gabrielle yelled out. She first turned to Cuddy. "We all know what he did was wrong, but really, you should be used to it by now, and there really should be nothing to worry about. Don't take this the wrong way, but you could be overreacting a tiny little bit." She then turned to House. "And you, you're an ass and you need to learn some self restraint or something."

Cuddy leaned her head back as she sighed. "I'm sorry," she said.

"I think that answers the question as to how are you feeling?" House said as he went and stood behind her. He started messaging her shoulders as he looked down at her. "I think you should take a few days off, might make you feel less bitchy."

"Great, that's the fourth time I've heard something similar to that," she said.

"Well," Gabrielle started as she looked around. "I'm going to go up to my room and call and see how people are doing back in Toledo. It's Monday so they just finished up with the weekend parties and such."

"I thought you said you were going to make dinner tonight," House said.

"I will! I'll order a pizza," Gabrielle said as she started climbing the stairs.

"Mommy!" Rachel happily squealed to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle stopped and quickly faked her surprise as she walked down to join House and Cuddy. "Did you two hear that? She said her first word!"

Cuddy just blankly stared. "Why was she looking at you when she said it?"

Gabrielle looked down and sighed. "You caught onto that huh?"

Cuddy looked over to her. "Well I'm not an idiot. You and I are in completely different directions." She hated the fact that her daughter called someone else mommy. That was supposed to be her. She was supposed to be the first one to hear it.

Gabrielle walked over to the playpen and picked Rachel up and carried her over to Cuddy. "Look, I can tell you hate me at the moment, and that's okay, I kinda deserve it. I said mommy sometimes when I would watch her and I took your moment away from you." She handed her over to Cuddy. Cuddy took the little girl and kissed her on the forehead as she held her off to the side. "Try saying mommy a lot around her, maybe she'll pick up on it."

Cuddy just sighed and looked down at Rachel. "That some sort of sign I suck at being a mom?"

"Its not a sign of anything. The kid repeated something that she had heard. I think that's why some mothers get mad if people swear around children," House said as he made his way around the couch and sat down by her.

Cuddy just shook her head. "You don't understand, I mean what if she would have called her daddy instead of calling you daddy?"

"If that happens I think we have bigger problems like gender confusion. Next thing you know she'll be asking some random girl to do it with her and then call us and ask why some people out there are missing those important parts for sex," he said.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Do you really have to do that?"

House shrugged. "I don't know. Does it really matter who she calls her mom? Cause I'm pretty sure you're still going to be the one that she'll want to come get her at night when she cries, and kiss her cuts and scrapes, and tell her about boys. She could be calling Gabi mommy and you a bitch but she'll still prefer you."

Cuddy just looked down at Rachel. "Maybe I should take that vacation. Spend more time with her."

* * *

Gabrielle sat up in her room at her desk. She took her cell phone and dialed the number carefully and then awaited for an answer as she listened to the ringing. "Hey!" she said as she smiled. "Yeah! Its Gabi. How are you doing there Jake?" She sat and listened to what he had to tell her. "Yeah well, I only like ya us I don't have to live with ya!" She laughed. "Well, then, be nicer to your sisters." Her smile suddenly faded. "Well then, good luck at practice then. Call me after your first game and let me know how you do." They each said goodbye to each other, and she hung up.

**Well, here it is, the sequel. I know that the very last part with Gabrielle probably doesn't make any sense at all right now, but it will later on in the story. Anyways, tell me what you think, and I hope that you enjoyed it. **


	2. Desperation Part 1

Chapter 2: Desperation (Part 1)

Gabrielle sat at the conference table along with House, Thirteen, and Kutner. They each held their hand of cards before them. Gabrielle raised her eyebrow as she carefully studied her cards. "Five dollars," she said as she picked up the chips and threw them into the middle.

"Call," Thirteen said placing the chips in the middle.

"I'm out." Kutner threw his cards in and sat back in his chair.

House raised his eyebrow as he looked to Gabrielle from the corner of his eye. "I call your five, and raise you another five."

Gabrielle looked to him and then glanced over to Thirteen before looking back down at her cards. "Okay, I call."

"I'm out, I don't have anything," Thirteen said.

Gabrielle smirked as she turned herself to completely face House. "Well, just us two."

"You make that sound like its to your benefit." House looked over and put ten more dollars worth of chips into the pile.

"I may be a young girl, but I'm sure as hell not that naïve." Gabrielle put her chips into the pile and then sat back and watched him for a minute. She then looked down at her cards and bit her lip.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Cuddy asked as she walked into the room. She went over and stood before the table and looked down at the cards and chips spread out. In surprise, she looked over at House. "You're seriously allowing your daughter to gamble?"

House smugly kept his eyes on his cards. "Not only that, but I'm allowing her to lose all her money to me." He then laid down his cards on the table. "Five, six, seven, eight, nine. Bet yours can't beat mine," he said.

"Whimsical," she said as she rolled her eyes. Gabrielle then laid out her cards. "Three aces and two queens. I think I win."

House just rolled his eyes, and like the rest at the table, pulled out the money that they had owed her and handed it over. "You were saying?" House asked as he turned to face Cuddy.

Cuddy was tired and irritated and in no way in the mood to deal with any of this at the moment. "I just need you to do your job," she sternly said to him. She then softened her expression and looked to Gabrielle, "And could you please come downstairs and help me with a few things? I have to gather what I need to finish up at home and there are a few things that need to be collected and taken to other people and all that stuff."

"Sure," Gabrielle said as she stood up and put the money away. "Meet you downstairs."

"Okay, thanks," Cuddy said as Gabrielle passed her and left the room.

"Oh sure, be nice to her when you ask, but yell at me. Not that I don't think you're hot when you're mad," House said.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "First off, grow up. Second, you're an employee, I pay you to do your job. She's a volunteer, big difference there."

House nodded. "I think I felt that one in my pants."

Cuddy just huffed and then turned and walked out of there. It was getting irritating, dealing with House at work used to be a little annoying, but there was a playfulness on both parts. Now, he was the only one being playful and she was getting more and more irritable by the minute.

Cuddy made her way to her office and opened the doors to find Gabrielle sitting on the corner of her desk. "Hey there," Cuddy said as she walked over and sat down.

Gabrielle smiled to her and then stood up. "So, what did you want me to do?"

Cuddy sighed and looked down. She then looked back up and saw that Gabrielle was watching her.

Gabrielle laughed. "Daddy's not more irritating, he's actually gotten a bit better, you're just more irritable." Cuddy started to ask something, but Gabrielle answered before she could start to speak. "You had to ask it sooner or later."

Cuddy just grabbed a few files off her desk and handed them to Gabrielle. "These are needed in the ER. Then I would like you to go up to the fourth floor and see if doctor Wayne has those consent forms for me."

"Will do," Gabrielle said. She hesitated to leave. Something seemed to be wrong. Without another word, she turned and left the room with her list of things to do.

Cuddy sat back and sighed as she rested her hand on her belly where it had been hurting all day. She tried to rub it, but that didn't seem to be helping. "You know, you two have scared me more than anything in my life," she said looking down.

* * *

Gabrielle walked down the hallway towards the clinic. She had enjoyed running the errands in the hospital, she got to know the people there and get to socialize. "Howdy doody Miss Cuddy," she said once she finally got to Cuddy's office.

Cuddy, who was standing at the filing cabinet looking for something looked over and thanked Gabrielle. "I just can't wait for this day to end," she said as she turned to walk back to her desk.

Gabrielle was about to say something, but something else caught her attention. "Lisa? You feeling alright?"

"Nothing out of the usual," Cuddy replied as she looked up. The look of worry on Gabrielle's face was beginning to concern her.

"Look down at your leg," Gabrielle blankly said as she pointed.

"Oh God," she gasped upon looking down and seeing the blood running down her leg.


	3. Desperation Part 2

Chapter 3: Desperation (Part 2)

Cuddy lay in the hospital bed with House beside her. The tears were streaked down her expressionless face. The pain that she had felt earlier had turned into a feeling of emptiness, the loss that she might have to soon face. "Maybe you were right," she softly stated while keeping her eyes forward.

"About what?" he asked.

"Good thing I failed to become a mother," she said. "No matter what happens, there seems to be something that goes wrong. There has to be a reason behind that." She broke her constant blank stare and turned to House. "How many people out there just have miscarriage after miscarriage than have an adoption fall through? The only reason I even have a kid is because her mother died and I was there when the family put her up for adoption. Now I finally am pregnant, but everything has gone against me. There's something wrong there!"

House just looked down towards the floor. "The liars and cheaters of the world out there barely have to do anything and they're rich enough to live out their life without ever having to hold a real job, and all because some idiots out there fall for whatever crap they give them. Then, some people with actual brains who are capable of holding jobs but some how coming up short have to end up paying for what the family moron did." He then looked over to Cuddy. "I don't think that your little chain of events there has anything to do with whether or not you deserve to have kids. Those were all just events that had occurred, and you happened to have the disadvantage."

Cuddy sighed and then looked back up at House. "Are you saying that I deserve to have my own children?"

House looked forward and paused for a second. "I'm saying that if the world were fair, which really doesn't exist since we all have our own ideas of what's fair, but if it did exist and it was fair, you would have been married a while ago with your own family simply because that's how you wanted it to be."

"Right," Cuddy said. She had stopped paining attention for the moment. The pain had started to get worse again. Her eyes watered as she squeezed his hand.

House quickly glanced over and then looked down to her hand. Taking his other hand, he gently placed it over hers and stared aimlessly.

Time went by, it wasn't all that much, but it felt as if eternity had passed by them. The doctor finally came in and got Cuddy ready to go off and get a c-section preformed.

"I love you," he said as he stood up and kissed her on the forehead. He received a small, uncertain smile from her and then turned and left the room. There was always the option of going to the room with her, staying by her, but, he couldn't. This was all too much. The thought of something going wrong was enough to break him down, let alone what would happen if he were to witness it. Instead, he decided to go wait outside of the OR and wait.

* * *

Gabrielle sat in House's empty office. She knew that he would not be staying with Cuddy the entire time and figured that he would be back there sometime. Every few minutes, she would look down to check her phone, make sure that something didn't go horribly wrong.

To her, it was weird how sunny and nice it was outside while all of this was going on. Leaning her head back in her father's chair, she stared up at the ceiling. It was hard to think of how things could change so instantly, how one second could ruin a life.

"Hey I…" Thirteen started, but realized that House wasn't there. "Where's your dad at? I have a case for him that I'm interested in."

Gabrielle sat up and sighed. "I don't think he's going to be wanting a case right now." She looked off to the side for a second towards Wilson's office to see if House was there, but saw no one. "Cuddy's having an emergency c-section. She was bleeding earlier and I really don't know anything else that's going on."

"I'm sorry," Thirteen said. She put down the file and walked over. "You've all had a rough year huh?"

"Why should this year be any different from the rest that I've had?" Gabrielle asked. She leaned forward on the desk. The interest had been sparked in Thirteen's eyes and she motioned for her to sit down in the chair at the front. Hesitating before she spoke, she let out a small laugh. "I know this is going to sound horrible, but this has been one of my best years. I didn't realize it at the time, but it really has been."

"Its a bad thing to have a good year?" Thirteen asked.

"No, it's a bad thing to pick out the year that your mother dies and you put everyone through hell and all it your best year." Gabrielle explained. "Most people hate their freshman year of high school, I personally loved it." She lowered her voice, as if in shame, "most of my family doesn't know this, but my eighth grade year, I didn't care. I got drunk, I think I might have gotten high, which is very hard when you use an inhaler. I got a tattoo. Hell, I even knew what Vicodin was and how it made you feel before I got here. When I started high school, I made actual friends, and yeah, they enjoy some of that sometimes, but they made me realize that I don't need it. They helped me to straighten out. Then I come out here, meet my dad and have people actually fight for me. I have a family now."

Thirteen smirked. "Kinda like me. My mother died when I was young, and now I have the same disease that killed her. For a while, I wanted to try everything there was, cocaine, marijuana, any kind of booze, both men and women." She slightly laughed and then continued on. "It didn't matter to me, as long as I felt like I was getting the most out of life as I could. I wanted to live a full life in the time I have."

Gabrielle gave her a slight smile. "Feels kinda empty once you think about it doesn't it?" She then looked down for a moment to gather her thoughts. Looking back up, she sighed. "For you it was fulfillment, for me it was a distraction. My mother was a drunk who didn't always take care of me. My closest thing to my father and my little brother were chased away by my Aunt Eloise. I had to go stay with Eloise a lot and she abused me, and worst of all, my grandparents threw money at us to cover it all up."

Thirteen laughed again. "Nothing covers up a screwed up life."

"But you can always try and fix it," Gabrielle said. She then jumped when she heard her phone go off. This most likely, was about Cuddy and the twins. Carefully, she opened her phone and prepared herself for the worst. "He only wanted to tell me that he was waiting outside of the OR and to get out of his office."

Both Gabrielle and Thirteen stood up and walked out of the room. Before they got to the door, Thirteen turned to Gabrielle. "Tell them both that I hope everything works." 

"I will," Gabrielle said with a small smile of gratitude and then turned and hurried to the elevator.

* * *

House stood against the wall outside the room where Cuddy was. It was hard for him to just stand there and do nothing, but that was all he could do. Everyone else out there he could cure, but when it actually came to someone that meant something to him, she goes through something that he can't do anything for.

Since she had gone in, only a few minutes had actually passed, but like the rest of the day, the minutes seemed to slowly pass by, turning themselves into endless hours. Each second that passed left him feeling more and more weighed down by the nervousness and anxiety. He was about to lose it.

"Hey daddy."

House quickly turned around and saw Gabrielle standing there. "They haven't said anything yet?" she asked. The answer wasn't that hard to figure out, but asking a dumb question was better than just standing in the tension filled air.

"If they did, would I be out here like this?" he asked. He went and stood next to the door. It was hard to believe that he would have his turn waiting for the patient. It had comfortable being the doctor and being disconnected with the patient and their family. Without much thought, he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out the bottle of pills. After swallowing whatever happened to pour out of the bottle, he sighed and looked down. "If anything happens, physically, she'll be fine, mentally, she'll never quite move on.

Gabrielle walked over and stood beside him. "I have no idea what it feels like to go through something like that, but I know what it is to be teased over and over again." She stopped for a second and shrugged. "After this she could either try again, or completely give up on the whole thing."

"Humans are never quite that simple. I can see her now locking up the room that she had set aside for the twins so that she doesn't have to be reminded every time she walks passed it," House said.

Gabrielle was about to say something, but the door opened and the doctor walked out. Both House and Gabrielle turned their complete attention to him. "The mother is doing great, some blood loss, but she'll be fine."

Gabrielle slightly smiled to House to try and comfort him a little before the doctor got to the babies.

"The first baby is a girl, and she's doing fine." He spoke with a smile that started to fade as soon as he was through with the sentence. The second one, a girl, couldn't cry all that well. We don't know why yet, we're going to run a couple of tests and keep her on a ventilator," he explained.

Gabrielle bit her lip. She knew that that wasn't good, and was wondering what would happen next. Wanting to know how he felt, she looked up at House and sighed. She saw him just blankly staring, expecting the worst.


	4. Absence

Chapter 4: Absence

House stood before the door to Cuddy's room. It was a bit much in the moment. It was hard to even think about facing her at the moment. He looked down towards the floor and tried to gather an idea of what to even say once he got in there.

"Dad?" Gabrielle said getting his attention. "I know that you're scared to go in there, and that is understandable because once you go in there, you're going to have to face up to what could happen."

"Oh, well now its all a completely different story," House sneered in response.

"Don't!" Gabrielle snapped. Crossing her arms, she just sighed. "Look," she said as she went and stood before him. "If you're not going to go in there, at least let me. That way you can gather yourself while I let her know that we didn't forget about her." She studied the unchanged expression on his face and then turned and walked into the room.

House just stood out there in the hallway. In all honesty, he wanted to go in there and tell Cuddy that it would all be okay, but he couldn't. There was a memory that kept playing over and over again in the back of his head. It was from one time when he had gone over to her house after she had miscarried.

(_They both sat on the couch together, House and Cuddy. House sat at the end while he had Cuddy, who was wrapped in a blanket, in his arms. The room was dark and silent. He could feel her shoulders shake when she would cry. _

"_Need anything?" It wasn't much of a question at the time, but it was all that he could think to ask at the moment. _

"_I wouldn't know what," she answered with her shaky voice. She then sat up and looked over to House. Even though it was dark and House didn't really care, she still felt the need to try and dry her face. "At least I lost it now instead of getting more and more attached to it, I just kinda wish I could get to the point where I can pick out the names and decide whether or not I want the sex of the baby to be a surprise."_

"_How far along were you?" House asked. _

"_Almost three months," she nearly whispered. "For almost three months, I was almost a mother." She sat back into the couch and sighed. "What do you think about me being a single mother?" _

"_Let's see," House said as he looked over to her. "You can handle the hospital, you can handle the hospital with me in it…I think you can handle a baby."_

"_My sister told me that all of this would be so much easier if I just went ahead and waited until I got married and then had a baby with someone that I actually knew," Cuddy said. _

"_Considering that the last time you told me about your sister you mentioned something about her being a complete bitch who needs to mind her own business and stop telling you what's right for you, I think you should just ignore her," House said. _

_Cuddy laughed. "Well, she does have her points, but there is one thing that would be so much harder."_

"_What's that?" he asked. _

_Cuddy turned to him, but her eyes were focused on the ground. "If I end up completely failing to become a mother, then I have to live with the fact that I never had a baby, but if I was truly in love with a man, and completely failed, then I failed on having HIS baby. I missed out on the chance seeing a part of me and him grow up. I didn't just lose the baby of some man that meant nothing to me, I lost the baby of the man I love."_)

House's eyes watered as he looked up towards the ceiling for a second. Without a moment's thought, he went down the hallway towards the elevator. There was no way that he could handle any of this anymore.

************

Gabrielle stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Cuddy's back was turned to her, which allowed her to pull out her phone real quick and text to Wilson to look out for House and make sure that he gets to Cuddy's room eventually. She had known better than to believe that he was still out in the hallway outside the door. He had to be hiding out somewhere. "Lisa?" she asked as she slowly walked closer. The room felt extremely awkward to her, so much to the point that she had wished that House was there with her.

Cuddy turned over and sat up. "Hey," she said as she dabbed her eyes.

"Um, my dad's kinda overwhelmed at the moment. I really don't know when he'll get here," Gabrielle said.

"I figured," Cuddy said. She knew how House was, and didn't expect much of him when it would come to situations like this.

Gabrielle sighed as she looked down towards the floor. "I'm sorry, he just," she started.

"Yeah, I know," Cuddy said. Any sort of anticipation or hope was gone from her voice. She looked over to the side and stared out the window for a minute. All she wanted to do was to run away. Nothing was going right for her, and it was being taken out on those around her. The very thought of being able to move on and just forget about anything that had gone wrong for her seemed to offer a little comfort. "It's not like I was ever expecting him to just run in here."

Gabrielle could see how hurt she was that he wasn't there. That was the one person that she needed the most at the moment and left her on her own. There was nothing to say to that. She crossed her arms and went and sat down in the chair next to the bed. "He'll be here. Not right now, not when you need him most, but he will show up sometime." She knew that between her and Wilson, that that was possible. "He'll show up to come and see his two new daughters."

Cuddy looked over. "You always say to expect the worst. Why change it now?" The meaning behind her question was not be negative, but to find out why this girl thought that the baby would make it. She had needed to hear something good, and this had to be, this had to give her something to look forward to.

"I do, and at the moment that is slowly what I am preparing myself for, but there's a huge difference between the two of us in this situation. I end up losing a little sister, the one I had been looking forward two since you told me about her. A part of my family dies and leaves me, another person is taken from me. I will be sad, and I will cry, but my pain will fade sooner or later. You, you lose the daughter that you have been trying so hard for. You have to go through the pain that you've been through so many times, and even more so this time." Gabrielle shook her head. "I honestly don't think that you would be able to heal if anything goes wrong." Gabrielle reached over and grabbed her hand. "You have to hold on to any hope you have in order to keep yourself from losing it."

"Fine, I'll try and think of how this could end up good," Cuddy said. She just didn't want to argue anymore, but she could see what Gabrielle was telling her.

* * *

House sat in Cuddy's office with every blind and door shut. He didn't want anyone to walk in and see him. To absolutely make sure of this, he hid in the bathroom with his booze and vicodin. The quicker he consumed both, he was sure the quicker he would forget about everything.

"You coward!!" House jumped as he heard the words before the door slammed. He leaned over and saw Wilson walk into the room.

"I know you're in here House. Don't think that its possible to hide from everything," Wilson said as he started to slowly pace the room.

House just stayed where he was. The last thing that he wanted to do at the moment was to talk to Wilson. He knew everything that was about to be said between t he two and thought it pointless to talk.

"Fine! If you're not going to come out and take this like a man than at least listen to me." He stopped and sighed as he thought about what he was about to say. "Cuddy, aka, the fiancée, could be watching her own kid die up there! That's not easy for anyone, especially her and after what she went through to have those kids. And what do you do? You leave her to go get drunk." He paused for a moment to let that sink in and then began to laugh. "You are so pathetic, you don't even know how pathetic you are! You need her and she needs you! Where in that statement does it say that it is okay to just leave someone when they need you ? Your own kid may be dieing, and all you care about is getting drunk so that you wouldn't have to remember any of this and actually deal with it someday." He again stopped and sighed. "I guess I really don't care what you do at this point, but I'm going to go see Cuddy. If at anytime you decide that that's better than your bottle of rum or whatever, come and join me."

House waited until he heard the footsteps and the door close. Leaning his head back against the wall, he popped a few pills into his mouth and washed them down with the gin in his hand. That was the only thing that had ever come natural to him.


	5. Attached

Chapter 5: Attached

Gabrielle sat by Cuddy's side until Cuddy had gone to sleep. Wilson and others that had worked with House and Cuddy had all come and gone while House was off getting drunk. She knew that she should have dragged him in there, but that wouldn't have been right. It would have all seemed fake, and even if he was physically there, he wouldn't be all there. Sighing, Gabrielle looked down and watched Cuddy for a second. The last thing she wanted to do was to wake her and bring her back to the reality that she had feared for so long. Being careful to not wake her, Gabrielle stood up and left the room.

House sat at the desk that he had gotten out of storage for Cuddy. His glossy eyes searched the entire desk top. Everything was neat and tidy and in its place. As soon as his eyes got to the end, there was a picture of him and Cuddy together, taken in Hawaii. Every thought he had focused back to when Cuddy had announced her pregnancy, to when she moved in, to when she thought she had lost the twins, it all seemed like it had all happened in a week.

"Dad?"

The voice brought him back to where he was. Gabrielle closed the door behind her, slowly getting rid of the flooding light from the lobby into the dark room. All he could see was her silhouette as she approached the desk. She sat down within the dim light that shown through the cracks of the blinds, leaving her in a bluish tent. "What?" he asked.

Gabrielle just stared to him. "You left her. You promised that you would be there no matter what, and you leave when it counts the most." She searched what she could see of his face, and found nothing. "What's going to happen if something ever happens to me? Are you just going to leave me alone when I'm scared because you wouldn't want to face reality?" It wasn't a good question for someone in his mental state, but she could tell that it somehow got him to think about what he was doing at the moment. She shook her head and briefly looked down before she continued to talk to him. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you can't handle this, then there is no way that you can be a father. You're already freaking out at the starting line. How can you even face anything that could happen later on? What if one of them gets sick? You just gonna give up?" Her eyes started to water as she continued to talk. "Life's not perfect for you so you just get up and leave everyone behind to suffer?"

House was getting mad. It wasn't actually so much that he was getting mad at Gabrielle, but at himself. "Yeah! So what! Life's not perfect! No one ever said that you had to deal with every little problem that occurs! If the kid lives then the kids lives, if it dies then it dies! Me sitting there, lying through my teeth pretending everything's okay is not going to change that outcome!"

"You heartless bastard," Gabrielle muttered as she stood up and turned to leave.

House just sat there and watched her leave. Her words had left him speechless. They stung him, something that could only be done once in a while with words. He sat back and leaned his head back. He took the palms of his hands and rubbed them over his eyes.

Gabrielle wiped tears from her eyes as she stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall towards Cuddy's room. Entering another darkened room, and stood off to the side and called the nanny to make sure that everything was okay with Rachel. As she put her phone back into her pocket, she looked around the room. Like she had told the nanny, it was quite obvious that all of them would be staying at the hospital that night. She herself had no idea where to sleep at. There was the couch in Cuddy's office, and the chair in her dad's, but right now she didn't feel like seeing him. Instead of running that risk, she decided to go to Wilson's office. House would know to call him rather than go looking for him in his office, so she knew that he wouldn't go in there.

It was getting late, so the hospital was pretty empty compared to what it was usually. Wondering through the somewhat empty halls had given her time alone with her own thoughts. She thought back on the times when she would tell her father that he would be able to be there for Cuddy, when she convinced him to go after something that he had wanted. "Some things never change," she said as she got the door of the all too familiar office, the one that belonged to her dad.

Most times when she would go through his office, she would stop for a second to look around, but not this time. This time she just wanted to go to the door and get over to Wilson's office and try to sleep.

His watch read one in the morning. He had fallen asleep for a couple of hours. The bottle beside him had really been finished off since around seven, and with the couple hours of sleep, he was able to think about what he had heard earlier. Sitting up on the couch, he looked around and examined the room for a minute. Emptiness, the same thing that he had felt inside at the moment. It took him a minute, but he was able to gather himself enough to get himself over to her bathroom and clean up a little.

After a second look in the mirror, he went up to the nursery. Right away it had struck him that his one little girl would not be with the rest of the babies. Looking through the glass, there was the bittersweet moment in which he had seen the other baby. She was tinier than normal, but she was perfect. She was the one that was guaranteed to go home with them. Then, as if by instinct, he turned and studied his surroundings for a brief moment and then headed towards where the other baby would be.

The hardest part was actually seeing his tiny, little daughter inside an incubator. Time felt as if it had stopped right then and there. He could feel his heart skip a couple beats. "The living proof that life is unfair." The events unfolding before him were only a reminder of way he had avoided getting close to anyone, because things like this happened. There was a feeling of helplessness that came over him. He was used to taking people and scaling them down to nothing but a puzzle, and the puzzles were usually solved and fixed. This was one situation where he had absolutely no control over.

He looked around, there was no one else there. One of the rare times he could, and would put his guard down. House took his attention away from his surroundings and focused down on his baby. His hand slowly lifted, and then gently, his fingertips touched the glass that surrounded the tiny infant. "Life hasn't completely screwed you over yet, you have no right to just leave."

Tightly closing his eyes, he took his hand away and stepped back. He opened his eyes only to reveal the same image still before him. To that, he sighed and left the room. There was nothing he could do at this point, and all he was doing by staying there was torturing himself. Random memories started to flood his head. He could still clearly see Cuddy's face from when she had found out that she was pregnant.

(_Cuddy happily carried the file up to House's office and entered the room. "Don't you believe in knocking?" House asked as he watched his soap opera._

_"Why should I? You don't," she said._

_House looked up at her. He could tell that she was very happy. "Okay, what is it? Your plan for cheating the test work?" he asked._

_Cuddy shook her head. "I may not be able to go because I'm pregnant," she happily announced._

_That was when House's face dropped. "You're the father," she said. House just looked up at her._

_"Damn, two in one month, I feel like I've been dating twins or something," he remarked. He didn't know _

_how to feel about it. He had a daughter, and he did like having her around, but he didn't know how he would feel about a baby. Then again, this was Cuddy's baby, not some other girl's baby, Cuddy's. "Congratulations," he said._

_"That's it?" she asked. She was a little offended by his reaction._

_"How's this?" House stood up and kissed her and then sat back down. It was a simple quick kiss, but it sufficed for the situation. "I would be happy to have another kid."_

_"That doesn't sound like you though," she admitted._

_"Look, would I lie about something like that?" he asked._

_"I guess not," she answered._

_"Besides, I don't want them to come knocking at my door at fifteen asking me about my life," he said._)

Then all the troubles she had went through, it was almost like he was replaying everything that had happened. When she thought she miscarried, was diagnosed with pancreatitus. She came this far only to have one of her babies die.

That was another question that came to his mind: why should one get to live and the other die? This was a question that would be stuck in his head all night.

Cuddy's eyes fluttered open. The rain was hitting the window, and the drops ran down the window before the grey background. All she could do was stare. The previous day had brought her life to a screeching halt, and she didn't what to do about it. Her life had always been frustrating, but this was what made everything else seem like nothing at all.

"How are you feeling?"

Cuddy looked over and saw House standing beside her bed. He looked apprehensive behind that hint of a smile that he forced. His bloodshot, pink rimmed eyes had dark circles beneath them, and his face pale. It became quite obvious to her that he had not slept at all. That fact that he was somewhat hung over was also obvious. "I don't know. If I knew how to answer that, I would." It was hard for her to say happy when one could die, and hard to say completely depressed when one was living.

House looked down and started playing with his cane. He had allowed the silence to over come the room before he looked back up at Cuddy. Her face, the expression that he had gotten used to seeing every time that she was concerned. The last time he saw it was only a few days earlier. Her pancreatitus had begun to act up on her again while they were both at work.

(_House sat on the couch in Cuddy's office as she laid down with her head resting on his leg. His hand gently rubbing her shoulder. _

_Cuddy's face was tearstained as she nervously stared forward. "Something's wrong," she softly stated. _

_House looked down. "What?" he asked with a genuine concern. "Hurt different?"_

_Cuddy just closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. "That's not what I meant. Its not normal to go through all of this during a pregnancy." She stopped and sighed. "I wasn't supposed to have a baby, let alone two."_)

The flashback began to make him wonder if she really did have an idea of what was going on before hand. Everything that she had told him within those few minutes had struck him. It felt as if she were trying to emotionally detach herself from her babies. "She's still developing, there's a chance that she could outgrow what ever problem she has at the moment." Being half asleep and desperate, he wasn't all that sure of what he had said, but she seemed to like it, she was as tired as he was.


	6. Chances

Chapter 6: Chances

A couple of weeks had passed, and Cuddy had finally been able to hold the first baby girl, the one in which was named Jessica Mackenzie. There was nothing wrong with her, at least that they could spot. She was perfect, she was theirs. It had made everything worthwhile to Cuddy. She had finally had a baby of her own, with House. The one to change all of this was the other baby girl, the one that was having a hard time even breathing on her own. Both Cuddy and House had decided to give her a name, even if the odds didn't look all that great. Her name was Elisabeth Rose.

Now, Cuddy sat up in her bed as she held Jessica with House next to her holding Rachel. They were getting ready to go home, but before they could do that, they had to go and check on Elisabeth. Today was the day that they were going to try and see if she could breathe on her own. If she could, everything was good and she could go home with them, if not, then she would never get to come home with them. It was figured that if her lungs hadn't developed enough to breathe on her own, then they weren't going to.

"What do you think?" Cuddy asked. "You think you can get use to this?"

House looked over to her and noted the nervousness that she was trying to disguise with her smile. "Three people, three babies," was all that he had said. He knew she probably was just looking for something to distract her from her thoughts of the coming events. Even though he had hated seeing her go through all of this, it showed him how vulnerable, yet strong she really was. It brought to him a new admiration about her. "I'm sure we'll both be tired enough to stop caring after a while though."

"And Gabrielle can probably only help on weekends," Cuddy said starting to truly think about all of this.

"Only if she's home," House said as he repositioned Rachel on his lap.

"And there are times that you'll just have to randomly come into work," Cuddy said starting to stare off blankly into space. It was as if everything was starting to hit her.

"You do have a nanny," House said trying to keep her from freaking out on him. Cuddy was fragile right now, and the last thing that she needed was to be stressed out. There was no way to completely prevent that, but he figured that he may as well try a little.

Cuddy just nodded. It was hard for her to tell how she had really felt at the moment. Sleep deprivation and nervousness do tend to throw people off. There was plenty of time for her to sleep while she was still there, but with everything on her mind, there was no way that she could fall asleep, or at least get any decent sleep. There was nothing that she could do about the situation and it was slowly eating away at her.

Without realizing it, she had been watching House the entire time. There she sat, a newborn baby in her arms, and next to her was him, with another baby in his arms. Jessica was certainly there because of him, but he even had something to do with Rachel being there. He didn't know it, and probably never would, but the night that she had lost Joy, she was seriously going to give up on trying to become a mother. The thing that made her finally decide to adopt Rachel was when she had remembered that night, how he had told her that she would have made a great mother. That was the thought that she held onto, rather than the 'what ifs' that she could have continually asked herself.

Cuddy slightly leaned over and met House's lips with hers. It was unexpected, but he had returned the kiss. She slowly leaned back as she kept her eyes locked on his. "Thank you," she softly muttered.

House would find out what she meant later on, but for now, he just went along with it. "You're welcome," he said.

"Hey," Gabrielle said as she got to the door. She was still in her school uniform as she cautiously stepped into the room.

"You have everything ready to go home?" House asked.

"Yep. I put in the last car seat and then I brought my helmet to go along with you," she said as she went up closer to the bed. Looking back and forth between the two, she was trying to decide what was going on. Neither of them were extremely excited nor completely ruined, so they did not check on Elisabeth yet.

Cuddy smiled up at Gabrielle and then stood up. "I think its time we went and got this over with." It made her feel bad, but that was exactly what she was thinking. She hated waiting to see whether or not her baby was going to live, and the sooner she found out, the better.

House sat there and watched her emotionless exit of the room. "I better go catch up to her," he said and then handed Rachel to Gabrielle.

"Good luck," Gabrielle said as she watched him follow Cuddy out of the room. With Rachel in her arms, she sat down on the bed and sighed. "You think this'll all work out?" she asked.

Rachel just went on playing with the collar on Gabrielle's shirt. Smiling, Gabrielle looked down at her and brushed a light brown curl back from her face. "Must be nice not realizing everything that's going on around you." Gabrielle slightly laughed as Rachel looked up and started playing with the bow that Gabrielle wore in her hair. "There have been so many times in my life where I wish I hadn't known what was going on around me. This right now is one of those times."

oo000000oo

Cuddy had dropped off Jessica at the nursery while she and House went to go see how Elisabeth was doing. They both stood over the incubator as they stared down at their baby girl. Holding hands, House could feel Cuddy grabbing tighter as she lowered her head and tightly closed her eyes. She was getting ready to lose it. He pulled his hand out of her grip and watched as she slowly looked to him. Betrayal was written all over her face. She looked as if he had just left her completely. House just rolled his eyes and put his arm around her shoulders. "You didn't think I was just gonna walk out did you?" he asked. He wasn't feeling the least bit playful, but he felt he had to bring in some form of normality in to help her.

Cuddy leaned into him and stared blankly down at Elisabeth. Her throat began to hurt from keeping back the tears. The last thing that she had wanted to do was to cry. The crying had started a long time ago and hadn't stopped. The tears had obviously helped nothing and she was growing tired of her constant frustration and depression. This had to end now, she knew that she was stronger than this. She also knew that the man beside her was fragile, more so than he would ever let on. If anything were to happen right now, she knew that he would lose it, and in turn, she would lose him and losing someone was the absolute last thing that she needed right now.

"You two ready for this?"

Both House and Cuddy perked their heads up at the voice. The doctor had finally shown up after what seemed to have been one of the longest periods of time in their entire life.

"Yeah," House blankly answered.

"Okay," he said and then went and gently pulled out the breathing tube.

Both House and Cuddy anxiously watched for the outcome.


	7. Happy Ending, Right?

Chapter 7: Happy Ending, Right? 

"She's breathing," the nurse announced.

That was the moment that Cuddy had felt at her best. The stress within her suddenly went away. She let out a sigh of relief as the tears of joy washed away the tears of fear. There were so many things that she had wanted to say at that moment, but none of them good enough to describe how she had felt. Turning to House, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

House had just stared down at Elisabeth. His mouth hinted a smile and his eyes glued to her. He was going to be able to take home his daughter.

Gabrielle sat in the room with Rachel still in her arms. Her head perked up as soon as Cuddy stepped into the room carrying one baby. A second later House stepped into the room carrying the other baby. "Congratulations you two!" Gabrielle said as she walked over and hugged Cuddy the best she could. She then turned to House. "I know this physically hurts you, but you're just going to have to get used to it," she warned.

"At least when they do it they don't know what they're doing," House said.

"Trust me once they get old enough to purposely annoy you, I'll be there telling them what to do," Gabrielle said.

"That's just great," House said.

Gabrielle went over and hugged him. She then pulled back and grabbed the helmet with her free hand. "Come on, lets get home. I have to work on a project with these two idiots and want to get it over with as soon as possible," Gabrielle stated.

"I know the feeling," House said.

"You mind dropping me off at the library? That's where I have to meet a couple of people to work on a report for school. Its some sort of get to know each other, interview crap that I want to finish as soon as possible and move on from it," Gabrielle said.

"Sure," he answered. "You going to actually tell the truth?" he asked as he looked over to her.

Gabrielle shrugged. "I'm stuck with a couple of emo wanna be attention seekers. I might just give em some made up junk about a happy childhood to even to project out while annoying the living hell out of them."

"They really that bad?" Cuddy asked.

Gabrielle just nodded as she started to walk out of the room. House and Cuddy followed her, each of them happy to finally be able to leave that hospital room.

Gabrielle sat on the stairs outside if the library with Ally and Cori. Ally was not what she was expecting, she thought that with one emo came another, and Ally, well, she was actually pretty happy. She had light brown hair that came down to her shoulders. The front framed her round, rosy cheeked face. Her green eyes stood out, occasionally making Gabrielle wonder whether or not she really had brown hair, or if she was covering up red hair. Ally was more timid, she would smile up at the two every once in a while, but mostly kept her head down as she politely awaited for someone to speak to her.

Cori, on the other hand, was emo. She fit the stereotype to a tee. Her unnaturally black hair loosely hung in her face. The eyeliner completely overwhelmed her deep blue eyes. Her entire face seemed pale, but Gabrielle figured that was only because of the eyeliner and purple lipstick that she was wearing.

"So," Gabrielle started. "I guess that we should each get started with the questions. My mom just came home with twins and I think that she is going to need my help tonight." She was trying to not get annoyed with Cori who was blankly staring down at her wrists. The moment in which she asked the first question, she could tell that this girl was going to whine and moan to her about some little ordeal that happened to her a year ago and quite possibly scarred her. With everything that had happened to her over the past year, the last thing that she wanted to do was listen to someone else complain.

"Actually, Gabrielle? Do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions before we start out with the group questions?" Ally asked.

There was a true curiosity within her voice that Gabrielle couldn't turn down. "Sure, go for it," she said.

"I know that you're new here, where were you before?" Ally asked. Tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, she attentively awaited an answer.

The only thing that she liked to think about from her past were her friends and her mother, and for some reason, she got the feeling that Ally's questioning would lead to something other than one of those two subjects. Either way, she forced a small smile to her. "Toledo Ohio."

Cori looked up to her. There seemed to be no emotion in her face as she bluntly spoke. "I wish I could move somewhere, start over."

"Why is that?" Ally asked. She soon regretted asking when she saw Gabrielle glare to her. The stare from Gabrielle told her that she should have known better than to ask.

"Well," Cori started as she played with her bracelet. "Just everything around here is stupid ya know? I don't fit in, every group has their standards and they were placed too high for me."

"Oh God," Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

"What?" Cori asked glaring up at Gabrielle.

"You moron, being turned down by the popular kids is no reason to mope around. All it is is to get attention," Gabrielle responded. Folding her arms, she leaned back against the railing. "You might have a few more friends if you stopped the act and actually tried to be happy about something instead of bitching about every aspect of your life."

"Do you know how it feels to sit alone at lunch? To not get invited to parties? To feel like you're always being talked about?" Cori asked getting mad as she stood up for herself.

"I think you'll live," Gabrielle retorted.

Ally could see that this wasn't going to end itself soon and decided to jump in before either of them got in another comment. "Let's move onto our work," she stated. "Describe a normal day for you," she said without even hesitating to get a response from either one. After a second of silence, Ally decided to describe hers. "Well," she uncomfortably started. "I wake up, chase my little cousins out of the bathroom, go to school, come home. Then sometimes I hang out with my friends and other times I just do my homework or something. Then dinner and then bed."

Gabrielle looked over. "You live with your cousins?" she asked. There was nothing behind her voice when she asked, but she could instantly see that she had struck something with her.

"Me, my little cousins Eddie, and Ian. We all live with my grandparents," Ally explained.

"That's insane," Cori said. "I have a little sister and I thought she was rough to live with."

"How old is she?" Gabrielle asked.

Cori shrugged. "Pam's twelve. She thinks she's mature now. She wants me to lend her my makeup, lend her my magazines, follow me everywhere."

Gabrielle, laughed. "As scary as it is, I think she looks up to you."

Cori softly laughed. "Hey, the most we know about you so far is that you're from Toledo and you can be a bitch."

Gabrielle just nodded in agreement. "Well, even though that is really all you have to know about me," she started and then sat forward. "Before I was even born, my parents left each other. They weren't even married, so I have half brothers and sisters. Jake, he's about eleven now I think, I haven't seen him since I was like seven. Then there are the twins, Jessica and Elisabeth, which are only two weeks old. Then Rachel, who is nine months old. Rachel was adopted by my dad's girlfriend."

"You ever get curious about your brother?" Ally asked.

Gabrielle shrugged. "I have been keeping touch with him." Raising her eyebrow, she though back to the once a week phone calls that she had been making. "I guess all the sixth graders found it cool to go onto facebook. He was friends with a couple of my cousins who were his age and I found him that way. After we spent a little bit of time messaging each other, we exchanged phone numbers and now we call each other.

Cori sat there and thought for a minute. So far she was the only one with a normal family. Playing with a strand of hair, she looked up to Ally. "What happened with your parents?" she asked.

Ally just sat there for a second and hesitated. This was something that she was uncomfortable with talking about.

"You were taken away from them weren't you?" Gabrielle asked as gently as she could. It wasn't something that she wanted to just blurt out like that, but she could see it in Ally's eyes. It would have been different if her parents were dead, there wouldn't be an element of shame that she could sense when she had started to talk about her home life.

Ally just nodded, and both Gabrielle and Cori left it at that. "Maybe we should just leave this til tomorrow," Gabrielle sighed.

Cuddy stood in the doorway of the nursery. Somehow, her and House had miraculously gotten all three babies to sleep. House was now in bed, soundly sleeping, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the room. She felt as if she had to watch over the twins, especially Elisabeth. Hearing the faint sound of the television from Gabrielle's room, she decided to walk in and see what she was watching.

Gabrielle sat on her bed as she stared up to the TV screen. Her eyes seemed to be glued to the screen, like she was blocking out everything else around her.

"What are you still doing up?" Cuddy asked, leaning in the doorway.

Gabrielle looked over. Her eyes squinted in slight confusion. "It's Friday night." Gabrielle turned to lean her back against the wall and motioned for Cuddy to come sit down next to her. "I guess being in a hospital would screw up your days there," she said as Cuddy walked over and sat down.

"What are you watching?" Cuddy asked.

"Hellraiser," Gabrielle answered, turning her attention back to the movie.

Cuddy started to stare in disgust. "What is that thing?"

"That's Frank," Gabrielle answered.

"Who is that and why is she kissing him?" Cuddy, again in disgust asked.

Gabrielle softly laughed as she reached for the remote and turned it off. "I'm not watching this with you," she announced and then turned to Cuddy. "So, why aren't asleep? I'm sure you're exhausted after today. I mean, I only took care of Rachel when I got home from the library, and I'm kinda tired."

Cuddy sighed. Fear of losing of them. That was all there was to it. Jessica and Elisabeth were both very tiny, and Elisabeth had already had trouble breathing. Just because they were able to go home didn't mean that they would automatically be fine. "I just want to be up in case anything happens," she said.

Gabrielle knew that she was scared, but she didn't want to keep poking at her about it. Instead of saying anything, she nodded and then allowed the room to fall silent. The air grew awkward around them.

"You know, stressing yourself out won't prevent serious situations from happening. If anything, it would just make things worse." Even though Gabrielle knew that she shouldn't be talking about this, she had to say it. "Basically, if anything is going to happen, its going to happen no matter what."

"And that's supposed to calm me down?" Cuddy asked.

"No," Gabrielle answered. "I just don't want you constantly awaiting the worst. Sure, be prepared for it, but don't base all of your decisions on what could happen instead of enjoying what is."

"Easier said than done," Cuddy said as she stood up.

Gabrielle forced a slight smile to her. "Good night Lissy."

"There's a new one," Cuddy said before stopping at the door. Wearily, she turned back and returned the smile. "Good night."

Cuddy closed the door behind her and walked into her room. Before her, House laid there in the bed, sound asleep. Amazing how he could easily sleep when she was about to force herself. Laying down beside him, she started to wonder, how she could get everything that she had wanted, and still be unhappy. She was happy that she was finally with House, and she loved all the kids, but why couldn't her babies just be healthy? The minute that she had noticed the blood was the second that everything had hit her, something was going to go seriously wrong. This was where she could do nothing. This was the part where no matter how hard you try in life, there was nothing that you could do to change what is.

"Lisa?" House asked, still half asleep.

Cuddy looked down to him. "I was just checking up on the babies," she absently answered.

He mumbled something incoherent and seemed to dose back off.

Cuddy reached over and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night," she said and then stared at his expressionless face. This was it. She had gotten everything she had asked for, right? House right beside her, children, her very own. Was this supposed to be her very own happy ending?


	8. Different Now

-1Chapter 8: Different Now

Cuddy's eyes flew open at the sound of crying coming from the nursery. She looked over and huffed as soon as she saw House still soundly sleeping. How could he do that? Especially now, she needed him. "Greg?" she tried, but no answer. This was where she knew that she had to use her 'boss' tone with him. "House!"

House's eyes flew open. "What?' he asked yawning. "You have one of those dreams about me that you just had to reenact?"

Cuddy smirked as she sat up and threw the covers off him. "Remember those babies I had?"

House groaned as he turned over. "If I say no do I still have to go with you?"

"Yes," Cuddy said. She got out of bed and started off towards the nursery.

"Coming," House said as he slowly got out of bed and followed her. It was hard for him to believe how quickly she got up and out of bed. "And they say seniority counts," House said entering the nursery where Cuddy was already feeding Jessica. "If that's so true why are we, in our late forties, here catering to those who are less than a month old?"

Cuddy just laughed. "You're just mad you didn't get to sleep." She then looked down at Jessica, "get used to this, he's always grumpy."

House then picked up Elisabeth and sat down with her. "Oh yeah?" he asked as he grabbed a bottle. "Well your mom's a control freak. You just wait til you're five," he said down to Elisabeth.

"Grow up," Cuddy smirked.

"See? She's as far as to try and control something that can't be decided by human beings," House said.

Cuddy just rolled her eyes. She was too tired to do this at the moment. All that mattered was that things were good at the moment. "Was Rachel still asleep when you left?"

"I think so," House answered.

"Good, a heavy sleeper," Cuddy said.

The rest of the time was spent in silence, with the exception of a few exchanged words and questions concerning where things were or how each other was doing.

Once the twins were finally back to sleep, they both stood there in silence as they watched them. House had his arm wrapped around Cuddy as they stared down to both cribs that were side by side against the wall. He knew that Cuddy had still nervous about Elisabeth, so he figured that if she was going to be up mist of the night, that he might as well stay up with her. Besides, he didn't mind just watching the babies. It was different watching them from when he would watch other people. There was nothing that purely just interested him about them, he wasn't trying to figure them out, use them to get his way. He was just watching them. "You think we should go get some sleep?" He had looked over and noticed the worn out expression on Cuddy's face.

"You can if you want to," Cuddy responded. The lack of energy was clearly displayed through her voice. She liked the fact that he was there right now, standing beside her, but she knew that if he stayed there, he would tell her that she needed sleep. There was no doubt in her mind that she needed it, but the fact was, was that she couldn't. She had to stay, she had to make sure.

House raised his eyebrow to her and then looked back and forth between her and the twins. "If something's going to happen, its going to happen whether or not you're here. Just thought that I should make you aware of that."

"At least if I'm here I can try and do something," Cuddy softly responded. Her eyes remained glued to the sleeping babies before her.

This wasn't going to work. Right now, Cuddy needed sleep. Gently, he grabbed her shoulder. "How about this?" he tried once more. "You go to bed and sleep, and I'll stay here with them. Then, once you've gotten some sleep, you can rush in here and watch over them all you want."

Cuddy looked up to him and then shrugged. There was still going to be someone there, not just someone, House. If anyone could do anything, it would be him. "Alright," she finally gave in. Kissing him lightly on the cheek, she said goodnight and thanked him.

House just turned and watched as she walked out of the room. As soon as she was gone, he went and took a seat in the rocking chair. Slowly and gently he rocked back and forth, his eyes never leaving the crib. The entire house was silent as he pondered on his own life. Here he was, a cynical, stubborn ass who mainly only cared about himself, just sitting here in place of the woman that he loves, watching two babies, his babies sleep. Sure, he was tired, but that didn't matter right now. It also had hit him that he wasn't bored. He hadn't snuck downstairs or fallen asleep or anything, he did what he had said he would. He actually cared.

Standing up, he stepped closer and looked down into Jessica's crib. She just lay there with her eyes closed, peacefully sleeping. Most likely those eyes would pop open in a few hours, crying to be fed again.

He then looked over at Elisabeth. The same thoughts going through his head, the only difference being that he knew that she had a slimmer chance of being there. They had both started out with the odds against them, but this one here had more against her than Jessica had.

Coming back to where he was, he looked over to the cracked door and decided to go check on Cuddy. As carefully as he could, he pushed the door open and softly made his way to their bedroom. To his liking, he pushed the door open and saw both Cuddy and Rachel sleeping. The woman that he had loved for a while was now laying in his bed, was now the one that he would wake up to every morning. The mother of his children. Laying not too far from her, Rachel. Yes, he had been jealous of her at first. It was dumb and childish, but that baby had taken some of Cuddy's time away from him. Now, since she was a huge part of Cuddy's life, she was a huge part of his. Next month, he was supposed to go down and sign papers to adopt her. As he saw it though, they would all be living together and he was going to be a father to her anyways, the papers only made things legal.

He closed the door and moved on to Gabrielle's room. There she was, passed out sitting up with the TV still running. The young girl that came into his life last year. Without her, none of this would be what it is now. If she hadn't entered his life, odds are he would still be by himself, sitting in his apartment while Cuddy would be at home with the nanny and Rachel. Jessica and Elisabeth might not have even been there. Ever since he had met her, she had been saying that everything happens for a reason. He still didn't believe that, but he was starting to see why she did.

Sighing, he went in and turned the television off and then went over and gently laid her down right before covering her up with the blanket on her bed. "Night," he softly mumbled as he turned off her light and left the room.

The nursery had remained unchanged as he reentered the darkened room. Not as much time as he would've liked had passed while he was gone, so instead of just going back and sitting down in the chair, he went back up to the cribs and looked down at each of them. "Knowing that you're kids who'll probably become morons around your teen years I know you can't promise to not scare us anymore, but don't go and pull anything life threatening. That woman down the hall there would go off the deep end if you did." He was afraid to say it out loud, but so would he.

**Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I have not updated this in a really long time, I was gone most of the summer. My Aunt needed help with her kids while she was recovering from surgery so I spent some time over there playing an extreme version of house. I also spent a lot of time just on vacation, partying, what ever, just gone lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. J **


	9. All the Same

Chapter 9: All the Same

Cuddy sat in the kitchen as she fed Rachel her breakfast while House sat at the table reading the newspaper. Gabrielle walked into the kitchen and joined the two. Sighing, she sat down and poured herself a bowl of cereal.

"Something wrong?" Cuddy asked without taking her attention away from Rachel.

Gabrielle looked up with annoyance. "I couldn't get a hold of Cori so I have to go over to her house to get the rest of the report done."

"The emo freak?" House asked.

"Yep. I get to go over there and listen to her whine about her life for the next couple of hours." Gabrielle set down the cereal box and stared at it for a minute. "You think its too late to ask if I could just interview this box right here? I'm sure it would have answers just as meaningful to me."

"Of course," House said.

"Did you maybe try not being so negative about this whole thing? Maybe giving her a chance?" Cuddy asked finally turning back to look at Gabrielle.

"Why?" Gabrielle asked. "I'm still going to have to hear the same story no matter what attitude I have. The only difference would be that I would be faking enjoyment which really only turns me into a liar."

"Gabi," Cuddy huffed as she rolled her eyes.

"What?" House asked. "I happen to think that she had a valid point."

"Of course you do," Cuddy said and then quickly turned her attention back to Gabrielle. "Look, all I'm saying is that you're setting yourself up for the worst time you can have. Before you even get there you've already got yourself convinced that you're going to be tortured."

Gabrielle sighed. "I guess you're right. It could be worse. I could be going to interview Aunt Eloise."

"That's the spirit," House emotionlessly said. Even though it sounded like he was mocking Cuddy's way of trying to cheer Gabrielle up, he really did think that she was doing a good job.

"Well, I think its time that I got going," Gabrielle said as she stood up. "I'll be home in a few hours."

"See ya," House said.

Gabrielle got out the door and started down the sidewalk. As soon as she was far enough from the house, she pulled out her cell phone and called. "Hey, Wilson? I made the reservations and ordered the flowers, you know, in case my dad doesn't remember. Did you do your part and make sure that you stayed free for tonight?" Gabrielle smiled. "Good, I'd hate to see what would happen if I tried to watch three babies on my own. Anything else you could think of?" She paused and listened for a moment. "Okay then, see you tonight. Bye."

"I hope that she doesn't come back in a bad mood," Cuddy said as she took the bowl of baby food over to the sink. "She's a mini version of you, and we all know how you are when you're in a bad mood."

"What's that supposed to mean?" House teasingly asked from the table.

Cuddy turned to him and smiled. "Gee, what was I thinking? You're right, it shouldn't matter whether you're in a good or bad mood." She walked over and kissed him. "You're unbearable either way."

"Love you to," House said.

"Mommy!" Rachel happily chirped.

Cuddy stopped and turned. "Did she finally call me mommy?" she asked in disbelief.

"Either that or she is really confused," House said.

Cuddy went over and picked the girl up. "I thought you thought Gabi was your mom, what changed your mind?"

"Mommy," Rachel repeated.

House stood up and walked over to Cuddy. "Congratulations honey, your daughter knows who you are," he said and then kissed her on the cheek and continued out of the kitchen.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Cuddy asked.

"Back to bed. I figure I can get an hour in before they decide to use me as their personal servant again," House said as he started up the stairs. He then stopped and looked over the railing and towards the kitchen doorway where Cuddy was standing. "Of course, I have no problem spending that hour as your personal slave boy sentenced to bedtime."

"Just go take your nap," Cuddy said. "I don't think either of us could actually go through with that right now."

"I wouldn't say that to the man who gave you twins," House said and then continued up the stairs.

Gabrielle got to Cori's and sighed as she stood at the door. Hesitating, she went to ring the doorbell. "Here goes nothing," she said to herself with annoyance. It started to become odd to her once she had been standing there for a minute that no one had answered the door. Cori knew that she would be coming over, she should be home.

Thinking that maybe she was listening to music or something that would keep her from hearing the doorbell, she tested to see if the door was unlocked, which it was. "Hello?" she called out as she stepped into the empty house. There was no one there. In stead of leaving though, she started to walk through the house. The living room and the kitchen were both empty, so she headed up the stairs. There were three rooms up there, and only one of them was closed. Without a second thought, she carefully opened the door. "Cori!" she yelled as she ran in.

Cori sat there on the bathroom floor with the razor in her hand. She already had cuts up her arm at this point.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gabrielle asked as she knelt down before her and snatched the razor away.

"You're not supposed to just walk into a house," Cori said.

"Yeah, and guess what might have happened if I didn't," Gabrielle said as she stood up. Walking over to the sink, she grabbed a washcloth. "What happened this time? Guy turn you down for some preppy girl?" She turned to her with the wet washcloth and saw the tears running down her eyes behind the black hair.

"Sure, that's always what its going to be right? I'm labeled an emo so I must never actually have a problem," Cori said.

Gabrielle sighed as she knelt back. Grabbing Cori's arm, she began to clean the blood off. "Well how is anyone supposed to believe you when there is a real problem? I mean there must be a reason as to why you got that label." Looking up, she saw the cold blue eyes staring up at her. "Alright, what happened? Let's hear it."

"Since you care," Cori started sarcastically. "My parents found marijuana in my room. I was gonna smoke it with a couple of my friends next tonight. My mom freaked out on me and my dad stopped even talking to me. This isn't the first time I've been caught with anything like that. As a matter of fact I've been arrested for being high before, spent a little time in juvi, what ever. Anyways, my mom told me that she is through with me and wants nothing to do with me what so ever. Next weekend I'm going to be sent off to some boarding school and then after that I'll go live with my cousin Keith until I can get my own place."

"Disowned huh?" Gabrielle asked as she sat back. Leaning against the opposite wall she leaned her head back. "Tell me, were you actually trying to kill yourself? Or were you just cutting to cut?"

"I was gonna go for it," Cori said.

"There's no reason to," Gabrielle said.

Cori rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That's nice of you to say but."

Gabrielle cut her off. "But I don't understand right? I have no idea what you're going through, what could possibly be going through your head right now, right?"

Cori the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. "Look," she said as she stood up and turned her back to Gabrielle and towards the sink. "I don't need you coming in here with your perfect life giving me some lecture on how to live with my issues."

Gabrielle quickly stood up. "You're right!" she announced. The anger and offense was evident in her tone. "I am happy with my life right now. I love it. But I sure as hell didn't wake up with it one day. I had to work my way up." Tears started to form in her eyes as she thought back. "Believe it or not, I was a lot like you are. At fourteen I didn't give a fuck. I went out and drank, I might have tried a couple of drugs, I don't know, I don't even remember! You wanna know how I got away with that?"

Cori turned as she tried to dry her face. "How?" she quietly asked.

"My mom was drunk herself. She had no clue that I was out. I was really supposed to be living with my Aunt Eloise, but I ran away from her because she abused me." Gabrielle then lifted up her shirt and revealed the jagged scar down her side. "I got that for breaking her vase when I was five."

Cori studied the scar. "Is that why you moved out here with your father?" she asked as she looked back up.

"I'm out here because my mother died last year. Believe it or not, there's a long story behind it, but Eloise was supposed to have custody of me. Since my daddy didn't have such a great record, he had Lisa fight for me, and that caused her a lot of trouble. I felt more guilty than I ever had, I even went to slit my wrist. I figured if I were gone, there would no more trouble for anyone," Gabrielle explained.

"I'm sorry," Cori said as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Gabrielle looked down and shrugged. "You see?" She looked back up to Cori. "I do know how it feels to be unwanted. I also know how it feels to think you're the cause of everyone's problems. I know the thoughts that cross the mind as you pick up that blade and see an easy escape."

Cori just stood there dumbly. She had no idea what to say to what she had just heard.

Gabrielle straightened herself out and walked to the door. Pausing, she looked back at Cori. "Next time you think that someone has no idea what you're going through? Just ask. You might be surprised."

Cori just stood there and watched as she left.


	10. What Would You Do Part 1

_What if I wanted to break  
__Laugh it all off in your face  
__What would you do?_

_What if I fell to the floor  
__Couldn't take this anymore  
__What would you do?_

_~ The Kill (30 Seconds to Mars) _

Chapter 10: What Would You Do?

House and Cuddy sat in the restaurant that Gabrielle and Wilson had sent them to. They both enjoyed the idea of having a night off together. There was nothing more that Cuddy had wanted. Ever since she had brought the twins home, she had been worrying about Elisabeth.

"Tell me the truth," Cuddy started off. Her face was down and her eyes focused on the lit candle between the two.

"I usually do," House said and then looked up. "That is, unless there's something to gain from lying, but I don't think this is one of those situations."

Cuddy sighed and looked up to him. "Do you think that I'm being over protective?"

House shrugged. "You could be worse."

"So, what?" Cuddy asked. "Is that a yes?"

House set his fork down and looked Cuddy in the eyes. "Honestly? I think you can do without the checking up every thirty minutes. But other than that, no."

"Greg, I don't think that I can take this anymore."

House looked to her. Her face expressionless as she stared forward. "What do you mean? Nothing has really happened yet. You just brought them home."

"That's what I mean," Cuddy said. Her shoulders slumped as she held her tears back. "Everything has been fine since they came home and I'm a nervous wreck. What's going to happen when I start back at work? I am going to be calling the nanny every ten minutes giving myself ulcers worrying about whether or not they're both going to be alive when I get home? What about the first time they get sick? Then what?" It was hard, but she had to calm herself down. It was enough that she had been able to keep her voice down, but she also needed to keep her face dry. "I'm just thinking that maybe..."

"Maybe you got what you wanted," House finished. "You're tired and stressed out. Just relax for a little bit."

Cuddy sat back and closed her eyes. "I hope you're right."

Gabrielle sat there and stared down at her cellphone. Her and WIlson had just gotten the babies to sleep and she had been waiting for a call from Cori. The last thing she wanted was to find out that she had actually gone through with suicide.

"Something wrong?" WIlson asked as he entered the living room.

Gabrielle looked up. She knew that she could trust him, but she didn't know how to tell him what was wrong. "I don't know," she mumbled and then went back to watching her phone.

"Right," he said. Sitting down next to her, he grabbed the remote and started to aimlessly go through the channels. He wasn't really paying attention to the tv before him, but instead wondering what was going on with Gabrielle. There had been very little communicated between the two all night. There had also been a weird feeling within the room. "Anything you wanna watch?"

Gabrielle set down her phone and looked over to him. "You ever contemplate suicide?" The way she asked was all too casual, but there was really no other way for her to ask.

The question took him by surprise. "What?" he asked quickly looking over. "You're not..."

"No," Gabrielle answered shaking her head. "I just witnessed someone else about to and I'm waiting for a call from them."

"And you're worried that they might have gone through with it?" he asked.

Gabrielle shrugged as she looked back towards the phone. "I don't know, just got me thinking." Looking back up at Wilson, she could see that she was making him nervous. "Back during the custody trial I had thought about it. It was very tense between everyone and I knew that there was a lot at risk because of me. I couldn't let others suffer that severe of consequences for me." There was a long pause as she thought about everything. "It scared me, cause what I saw today, it could have been me. The only reason she didn't go through with it was because I walked in."

Wilson sighed. "You know, you should be happy. You were able to stop yourself and you went on to save someone else."

"I should be, but I'm not." Gabrielle stood up and looked back. "I think I'm going to continue on with Lisa's tradition of constantly checking up on all three kids. Its easier to think while being in their company."

Wilson just looked back and watched as she went up the stairs. He was about to call up to Gabrielle and tell her that she had left her phone, but was stopped when he heard her yell.

"Wilson! Quickly!" The urgency in her voice caused him to jump up and run up the stairs.

House and Cuddy went over to the park after dinner. The same park that she had found him at when he was trying to hide from her to get out of clinic duty. This time instead of hiding they both laid down on the table and stared up towards the stars.

"Something wrong that I should know about?" House asked as he looked over to her.

"Why?" she asked while still staring up at the sky.

"You haven't actually talked to me since you asked me whether or not you're over parenting," House answered.

"I've been doing what you told me to do. I'm relaxing," she said.

"And that includes not talking to me?" he asked.

"Usually does," she teased. Smiling, she looked over and lightly kissed his cheek. These were the small moments that she enjoyed the most with him. Whether it was here, or at work when he would just randomly stop in to annoy her, or at home when he would help out with the babies. He was simply being himself and that was all that she had ever wanted. There was no way to deny it, he was sexy when he was working on his cases. His confidence and logic, and sometimes even his arrogance. "But I guess I'll have to change for tonight, or at least until I can find better company."

"Love you too," House remarked. He was about to lean over and kiss her, but his phone went off. "Damn timing," he muttered to himself.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and then watched as he answered. Her smile slowly faded as his did. He hung up and looked over to Cuddy. "That was Gabrielle, we gotta go," he said and then got up and started heading to the car.

"Wait!" Cuddy said as she propped herself up on her elbows. "What's wrong?"

"I'll explain to you on the way to save time. Now come on!"

Cuddy jumped up as quickly as she could and caught up to him.


	11. What Would You Do Part 2

Chapter 11: What Would You Do? (Part 2)

Gabrielle leaned against the doorframe of the opening to the waiting room. Looking in, she could see Wilson just stood there, blankly staring. He looked as if he had been wanting to say something all night, but didn't know how to say it. Truthfully, she felt the same way, she wanted to say something to help the situation, make it seem better, but there was nothing that could be said to help things out.

On the other side of the room sat Cuddy. Her eyes nervously glancing at the door about every five minutes. Tightly clenching the edge of the couch, she was about ready to jump at any word. Her emotions ready to go either which way. To Gabrielle, she looked as if she were about ready to breakdown. Fragile and lonely. Badly, she wanted to go over and at least try to calm her down, but she knew that that was now House's place, and she wanted to stay back and see if House would step in.

House though, was standing in the back corner of the room. Glazed over eyes gloomily staring forward without any trace of emotion. It had been a while since Gabrielle had seen any movement in his face. He was thinking, and very hard about what had happened. The only proof of his consciousness was the cane carefully twirling in his hand. Other then that, one would say he was comatose. To her though, he was more fragile than Cuddy was at this point. She knew that once he was over the edge that there was very little chance of him just coming back. The past few times that things went wrong, he snuck off, he ran away. This would send him away for a while.

Without really thinking about it, Gabrielle pushed herself away from the doorframe and walked over to House. "How are you holding up?" she weakly asked.

House slowly turned his head to her and sighed. "Peachy, how about you?"

Gabrielle shrugged and leaned her back against the wall. "I don't know. I guess I'm just confused." Carefully, she slid down to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I do everything that I possibly can to disobey my mom and rebel and then I end up getting saved from an abusive situation. Elisabeth does nothing to hurt anyone and she ends up getting sick." Checking to see if House was paying attention to her, she looked up up to him. Once she saw him staring down to her, she continued. "Why? Why her?" It was a question that had been circling around in her head.

"I'm sure that any religious crap you put together could somehow be twisted around to give you some kind of answer. Maybe not the right answer, but an answer." House then went back to staring before him.

"Yeah? What's supposedly the right answer?" Gabrielle asked.

"There is none. Things happen just happen. Working in a hospital you'll learn that one real quick." There was evident hurt in his voice that he had tried to cover up. There was nothing that could be done, and that was what bothered him the most. His daughter had got sick and there was not a thing he could do.

Gabrielle stood up. "I think I'm going to go see how Lisa's doing," she said. His answer had deeply bothered her, and she wanted to get away before it actually showed. As she walked over to the other side, she passed Wilson and whispered to him to keep an eye on House for her. She was pretty sure that he had already been doing so, but she just wanted to make sure.

"How about you? You holding up all right?" Gabrielle gently asked as she stood before Cuddy.

Cuddy quickly looked over and then looked up to Gabrielle. "Yeah," she said as if unsure of what had been asked. Looking back towards the direction of the door, she tensed up.

Gabrielle sat down next to her. "You know, worrying yourself like this won't accomplish anything."

"RIght," Cuddy said. She turned back to Gabrielle. "But there's nothing else that I can do. She's in there and I'm out here, where all I can do is just sit and wait and I can't handle it anymore."

"Just calm down," Gabrielle said.

"How could I!" Cuddy snapped. "You call me telling me that my infant daughter is having trouble breathing and you expect me to calm down!" Tears started to streak her face and both House and Wilson were now watching. At this moment she didn't care who saw her or what everyone else thought. The only thing that mattered was the baby in there that the doctors were taking care of. Standing up, she wiped her face and turned towards Gabrielle. "Rachel calls you mommy and Elisabeth can't breathe right. I suck as a mother and they get to pay for it! Nothing's wrong with Jessica yet, but I'm sure that its only a matter of time though." The tears were falling faster as she desperately tried to dry her face.

House just stood there and watched as he realized how quickly she was beginning to unravel. There she was, falling apart right before him. She needed him, and he was well aware of that, he just didn't know if he could handle it. He wasn't about to let the others know that he was slowly approaching the edge. Sanity was never something that he was known for, maybe his lack of, but he was never all that stable.

"I just, I just want her to come home already and be able to stay home. I want her to grow up, I want hear her first word, even if it is mommy and aimed at someone else." Cuddy fell to her knees.

Gabrielle got down and knelt before her. "Listen to me," she said. "You haven't heard anything yet. You never know what is going to happen. Until then, just try to calm down and remember, Rachel did call you mommy." Gabrielle's eyes had started to water. "Because really, you're a great mom, you shouldn't be punishing yourself."

Cuddy reached over and hugged Gabrielle. "Thank you. I find it hard to believe, but thank you."

Gabrielle then looked up over to House. "How do you think he's doing right now?"

Cuddy pulled away and stood up. "I don't know," she said realizing how edgy he looked. She started towards him and WIlson went over by Gabrielle.

Wilson and Gabrielle just sat there and watched the two. There were no words exchanged between them, but they could see Cuddy wrap her arms around him and rest her head on his chest. House then looked down and put his arm around her waist. "That's cute," Gabrielle said.

"That's never been a word used to describe your dad," WIlson said without taking his eyes off the two.

"There's a first for everything," Gabrielle responded.

House looked down and kissed Cuddy on the forehead. "What do you think?" he suddenly asked.

Cuddy lifted her head and looked up to him. "I don't know yet," she said. "I just don't know." In the back of her head she had wished he had never asked that question. To her, it simply meant that he had his doubts. How could she stay positive when the person she trusted the most couldn't? "How about you?" she asked hoping that he would give her a chance to stop worrying.

"Most likely an infection of some sort. I think she'll be fine," he answered.

Cuddy just smiled. This was what she had needed to hear. Those words from the most pessimistic person in the room helped her more than anyone would ever imagine.

The door swung open and the nurse walked through. It had seemed as if everyone had frozen. Of course there were other people in there waiting, but they didn't seem to exist at the moment. Cuddy pulled her body away from House, but made sure that he held her hand. Gabrielle sat up in her chair and kept her eyes on the woman just waiting for the final answer.

"Dr. House and Dr. Cuddy, may I please speak with you privately for a moment?" she asked.

WIthout any words, Cuddy lead House over to her and the three walked out of the room. Gabrielle and Wilson just sat there and looked towards the door. "What do you think? You're the doctor, you know how they give announcements."

Wilson sighed. "I don't know, I'm not familiar with how everyone gives their news."

"Wonderful," Gabrielle said.

Cuddy and House stood out in the small area between the ER and the waiting room. "Well," the nurse started. "We think that she's got Cystic Fibrosis. They're running a few tests. Both being doctors, I'm pretty sure that I don't have to give you the rundown of what happens if it is CF."

"No," Cuddy said. She knew very well what it meant. The constant care, medications, therapy, and even worse yet, all to keep her going until she's about twenty. Everything would be pointless at that point. She was willing to do anything to take care of her, but she didn't what would happen if something went wrong.

"We'll let you know when we find out for sure," she said and then left.

Cuddy stood there and stared back in disbelief towards House. "You know what that means right? If she does?"

House sighed. "Yes," was all he said. "Why don't you have Gabi drive you home? You need some rest, time with Rachel and Jessica. Then I'll call you if I hear anything."

Cuddy looked to him with despair. "Okay," she said with defeat. This was honestly the last place that she wanted to be at. Her daughter may have been there, but this was draining her. "See you tomorrow morning," she said and then kissed him right before she left.

House just stood there and watched her leave. He knew that at any moment Wilson would walk in there and talk to him. He had no idea what he would say to him, or what he would have to listen to, but he was sure of one thing, that no matter what, it was going to be a long night.


	12. Helpless

Chapter 12: Helpless

House stood there in the almost silent waiting room. He had heard every thing that the doctors had come up with that night. Negative on pneumonia, negative on bronchitis, negative on this and negative on that. All he knew was that it was down to a few choices. Something was building up and collecting in Elisabeth's lungs and they were afraid to operate and see what was going on because she was so fragile.

He went and sat down in his own office. There in his chair as he stared straight ahead, just wishing that there was something that he could do, that he could get involved somehow. The fact that he wasn't allowed to wasn't bothering him. If he had really wanted to join in all that bad he would find a way around that. The one thing holding him back though was his own fear. Every other patient to him was a puzzle, and that was it. Some solutions worked and others didn't, and when they didn't you simply tried another one. He wouldn't panic if one didn't work, but he knew the second that something would go wrong with Elisabeth that he would. The last thing he wanted was for him to panic, act out of fear and then completely screw everything up.

Without even thinking about it, he stood up and went over to the conference room. The blank whiteboard before him. There was nothing written on there yet. Instinctively, he picked up the marker and started to jot things down. Difficulty breathing, low grade fever, cough. Right there, that was all he had. There were no test results that he himself could look at. Just what he had before him.

"Don't do it House."

House turned and saw WIlson standing there in the doorway. "What could I do with this?" he asked as if his innocence were obvious.

Wilson sighed as went and sat down at the table. "I just don't want you to do something that you'll regret."

"Right," House said as he limped over to the coffee maker. The only thing he would regret if something went wrong would be that he did nothing. He was brought back from his deep thought as soon as the hot coffee started pouring over the edges of the cup and onto his hand. "Damn it," he slightly hissed as he quickly jerked his hand away. The cup suddenly shattered as it hit the ground. Coffee spilling all over the place.

"Are you okay over there?" Wilson asked starting to become more and more concerned for him. As he saw House start to back away from the glass, he went over and started to pick it up. "I don't think you've even done this before when you were drunk."

"You'd be surprised," House absently responded. Turning around, he looked back to the board. "How was she breathing?" he asked without realizing it.

Wilson turned to him from his spot on the floor and looked over with sympathy. "House, I can't let you..."

"How the hell was she breathing? I didn't think it was that hard of a question," House snapped, cutting him off as he turned back to him.

As carefully as he could, Wilson stood up and threw the glass out that he had collected in his hand and then walked over to join House. "Rapidly, like she was out of breath," he said with defeat. "She wasn't coughing until about half way here. Neither of us ever checked for a fever so I don't know how long she has had that." He hated to give him fuel to go off of, but this was also his daughter. He knew that if the positions were switched he would want to know everything he could too.

House just stood there, blankly staring. Time seemed to have stopped for him. "So she's not getting enough oxygen then now is she?" he more to himself. "And people cough because they have something in their airways that their bodies want to get rid of. A low grade fever is an indicator of an infection."

"House, really. You shouldn't do this. You're too close," Wilson argued.

House ignored him and continued to study the board. "Pneumonia and bronchitis were negative, but there's gotta be something building up in her lungs."

"House!" Wilson called to him as he went and stepped in front of him. "It is two in the morning, you have been here since eight. You are tired and upset. I know that you promised Cuddy that you would stay here, at least find somewhere to lay down and get some sleep. You'll be able to think more clearly in the morning."

"Fine," House sighed in defeat. "If I go into Lisa's office and go to sleep, will you promise to find out anything you can for me? Maybe get a hold of a few of the test results, you know with blood counts and all that good stuff. I think I need a bit more than she's lacking oxygen."

"Sure," Wilson said. There was nothing left for him to do but get House down stairs and to the couch. Opening the door, he stood there and watched as House stared blankly at the board. "House," he gently called.

"Coming," he said as he turned and left the room.

Cuddy sat downstairs on the couch. The room was dimly lit by a single lamp beside her. Silence surrounded her and left her only with the despairing thoughts of what was currently going on. Her attempts to sleep only left her with the images of what could go wrong, of seeing the nurse walk out and shake her head. It wasn't so much a single disease that was worrying her, it was not knowing. If it was a disease that Elisabeth could live through, then she would be a little less tense. She would still feel bad, but the constant worrying about what was going to happen would go away.

Without thinking about it, she reached over and grabbed her cell phone that she had sitting next to her. Nothing. No one had called her or left any messages, there was nothing. Feeling helpless, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Gabrielle, who had been worried about Elisabeth, House and Cuddy, sat up in her bed. The TV was entertaining itself as the glow illuminated the room. She knew that Wilson must have gone home by now, which left House there at the hospital by himself. At least, she hoped that he was still at the hospital, and not at a bar somewhere trying to forget his own name.

It was late, but she had to know. There was this feeling that she had, an urge to check up on him. Reaching over, she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and called him.

House, who had just began to lay down heard the phone ring and automatically answered it. "Yeah?"

"Hey, daddy. I was just wondering how everything was going," she said.

House looked over to Wilson, who was on the opposite side of the room trying to sleep, with annoyance. "The kid just called me up to see how things were at two thirty in the morning."

"I think you know what she means," Wilson said.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. I also wanted to know if you heard anything else about Elisabeth."

"Well, all that I know so far is that she is not getting enough oxygen. Most likely some kind of blockage in the lungs. That's why they think cystic fibrosis. Pneumonia has been ruled out already. At this point with the little bit of information I have, I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing," House said.

"Because a lot of what it looks like now could be worse?" Gabrielle asked. There was silence, and even though he didn't say anything, she got the answer. "Please, whatever you do, do not do anything stupid."

"Why does every one keep telling me that?" House asked.

"Dad, you feel comfortable using me as a human test subject. I know you don't want to screw up, but I also know that you have issues with knowing how far is too far," Gabrielle explained.

House, forgetting that he was still on the phone looked up to Wilson. "How much do you think her lung capacity has diminished?"

"Look, I don't know, but I'll try and find out tomorrow," Wilson said.

"Do what he says. Its bad to try to accomplish something that important while sleep deprived," Gabrielle said.

With that, they both hung up. Gabrielle sighed and stood up. She walked out into the hallway and noticed that the downstairs light was on and decided to go see how Cuddy was doing. Half way down the staircase, she stopped and looked down to her. All she could see was her just sitting there, doing nothing, just staring. "Lisa?" she called out.

Cuddy sat up and turned to face her. "What are you still doing up?" she asked.

"I was wondering the same thing about you," Gabrielle said and then headed down the rest of the stairs. "I thought you would be interested to hear that I just talked to daddy." As she sat down beside her, she could see her eyes light up in anticipation. "He said that there was no change."

"Oh," Cuddy said sounding rather let down. "That's better than doing worse though."

"Of course," Gabrielle said. She could see it in her eyes that this was taking its toll on her. The last thing that she wanted was for everyone to fall apart around her. "You realize that she is still alive right?"

"Really?" Cuddy asked. "Of course I know that my own daughter is still alive."

"Shouldn't that be enough at this moment?" Gabrielle asked.

"Is there something that you're not telling me?" Cuddy asked.

Gabrielle was taken aback by the question. She had no idea that Cuddy would have taken it that way. "What I meant was don't cry over something that hasn't happened. Especially something that isn't likely to happen."

"I think you've already told me that," Cuddy said.

"Well then, obviously you haven't grasped the concept yet," Gabrielle said.

Her hands briefly covered her face as she leaned forward. Once her hands were removed from her face, there it was revealed. Lisa Cuddy, dean of medicine, graduated number two in her class at Michigan State, the only one to be able to handle Gregory House, one of the only women to be head of a hospital. Now, mother of four, desperate, weak, tired, worn out and vulnerable. "How could you be calm about this? Tell me that everything will be all right? Aren't you scared at all?"

Gabrielle bit her lip as she stared down for a moment. "Yeah," she said and then looked up. "But, I can't let it get to me. I have to stay positive. I've been losing people right from the start." She paused as softly laughed and shook her head. "I lost my dad before I was even born. Then my step dad, my little brother. I've lost friends, my grandparents. Last year I lost my mother." Gabrielle looked down to her hands which were sitting idle on her lap. "I got my father back, but that's one out of many that that bitch took away."

"You're excuse for not stressing out is mine for stressing out. I should have a couple kids getting ready to start school by now. I've waited so long for those two and I don't want to lose any of my kids," Cuddy said.

"I can see that," Gabrielle said. She sighed as she looked over at the clock. "Look at that, three fifteen, you know what the importance of that time is?" she asked looking over to Cuddy.

"I'm sure I have no idea."

"The time that Ronald DeFeo went nuts and killed off his family because some voices told him to," Gabrielle said.

"That's not creepy to know off hand," Cuddy said.

"I know right? anyways, its also close to the time where Jessica wakes up for her feeding. You wanna get some sleep and let me take care of it? I can get a head start and go heat up the bottle and get there right as she's waking up, shouldn't take too long." Gabrielle didn't want Cuddy more stressed out than she was, and being over tired would work against that.

"I guess I can't argue with that offer," Cuddy said as she stood. "Thanks Gabi, goodnight."

"Night Lisa," Gabrielle said.

"Doesn't the fact that you babysat me bother you?" House asked as he flipped through the pages of the book before him. The two had made their way up to House's office.

Wilson sat at the other side of the desk and sighed . "I don't know, what would you have done if I didn't?"

"Slept better knowing that you weren't into watching me sleep," House remarked. He continued to look through the pages, occasionally stopping and writing something down.

"What exactly have you found so far?" Wilson asked as he looked over at the paper.

"A few things that it could be," he answered without looking up.

"Do you really think that you should be diagnosing your own daughter? Cuddy and Gabrielle are gonna be here any minute and I think you should concentrate on keeping them calm rather than a case that you shouldn't even be considering right now."

House set his pen down on top of the paper and looked up. "Yes, you're right, let's do nothing shall we? And while we're at it, lets screw with the doctors who are actually doing something, lets play around with the test results and screw up the diagnosis."

Wilson just sat there and watched him for a moment. There was nothing that came as obvious to say right now. Argue, and tell him that he's wrong, he will just rebel and tell you that you're wrong. Say all right, he'll just continue. "Wait until you see what they have ruled out. Give them a few days. Coming up with tests and procedures that they are already running is pointless."

House was about to say something, but Gabrielle and Cuddy walked in. The air was still as the two quietly walked in and took their seats. "Anything?" Cuddy asked.

"Well, they've knocked off a few things. There's most likely something blocking the airflow." House didn't even look up at her, instead kept his concentration on the book before him.

Cuddy and Gabrielle exchanged looks of nervousness. "What are you thinking?" Gabrielle asked.

House finally looked up and sighed. "Its not pneumonia. I know that they mentioned cystic fibrosis, but they would have to eliminate a lot of other things before they get to that."

"Then why would that be one of the first things that came out of their mouth?" Gabrielle asked.

"Because, they figure they'll tell you the worst that it could be and then when they tell you that its something less serious it'll be easier for them," House said. There was some truth behind what he had said. Tell the worst, let it sink in and then be the hero when its something simple. A part of him though, seemed to think that maybe that was all the symptoms pointed to.


	13. Breakable

Chapter 13: Breakable

Gabrielle sat across the table in the kitchen, across from House. One in the morning came about much sooner than either of them had figured, but it didn't matter. Gabrielle had Monday off, and all House had to do was head back to the hospital to sit there and wait in the morning. The only thing on the table was a bottle of bourbon that had a fourth of its contents missing, and the glass that was never far from House's hand.

"Is this why you were scared to get close to anyone?" Gabrielle asked. Her blue eyes were emotionless as they stared off into space. She was aware that this was a risky question to ask, but there was something that told her that she needed to ask it.

House didn't even look up to her as he refilled his glass. "I was afraid of something all right, I was afraid that I might get annoyed."

"So at the hospital you were annoyed more than anything?"

House, who about halfway to his mouth with his glass, froze and stared at her for a second. "Well they weren't telling me anything useful," he said and then continued to take a drink.

"Right," Gabrielle said. Sighing, she turned and looked out the window. There was nothing there to look at but the dark sky, but for some reason it attracted her attention. There wasn't even any stars visible in the sky that night, just never ending darkness. "I know this is bad, but may I?" Gabrielle turned to look at House and motioned towards the bottle and his glass.

"I know this is bad, but whatever," House said as he poured some and then handed it to her. "Just don't tell Lisa."

Gabrielle took a sip and then set the glass down. "You're more worried about getting in trouble with her than the fact that I asked for a drink?"

"You're not a stupid girl, I can't see you getting drunk. Besides, I'd rather here with me than sneaking out to some moron's party and getting wasted with a bunch of horny sex deprived boys," House answered.

"I have been to those parties before," Gabrielle said. "And I have gotten drunk, but I haven't lost anything important, yet." Gabrielle took another sip and then shrugged. "Those parties aren't always what they're cracked up to be thought. There's usually a fight and then some stupid drama, and this one's crying while this one's pissed off…"

"Who would have thought that moody kids being stuck together with alcohol would turn out unpleasant?" House asked and then took the empty glass from Gabrielle. He just sat there and watched her for a minute. Last year at this time he had no idea that she even existed, and here she was, staying up with him when he was worried about his other daughter.

"You want to go to New York for New Years Eve?" It was a sudden question, but for some reason he was feeling like he should do something with her, spend time with her. He was getting more and more attached to her.

"What?" Gabrielle asked taken aback by the question. A smile spread across her face. "This year?"

"No, twenty years from now. Yes this year."

"But aren't Rachel and the twins too young to take up there? I mean we could, but I don't think it would be any fun."

"I meant just us two," House said.

"That would be awesome." Gabrielle couldn't believe it. She would get to go on a trip with her daddy.

"Just don't hug me for it," House said.

Gabrielle laughed. "Sure," she said and then got up. "I think I'm going to go ahead and go to bed now. Something tells me that Lisa's going to be getting us up early to leave tomorrow."

"All right, see ya," House said.

Cuddy's eyes opened as she awakened from her deep sleep. She was having another flare up, she could feel the pain gradually get worse as her body became more and more awake. Whenever this would happen, she would look over and House would help her get through the episode. This time though, when she looked over, he wasn't there.

Sighing, she slowly sat up, and then carefully lifted herself up off the bed. The room was spinning as she tried to steady herself. Standing before the doorway, the hall to the bathroom seemed to get longer and longer.

Her vision began to blur as she tried to focus. Trembling knees beneath her finally gave out and she collapsed to the floor. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get back up. Her head was spinning with the feverous delirium. "Greg?" she weakly called. No answer. She tried again, but still got no answer.

Gabrielle heard Cuddy as she sat up and threw the covers off herself. As soon as she opened her door she looked out and saw Cuddy by the door to her bedroom. She was there, curled up and leaning against the wall. "Lisa?" She was suddenly awake as she rushed over and knelt down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Lisa looked up to her. "Could you please grab me some Tylenol or something to bring down a fever?" she breathily asked.

"Sure," Gabrielle said. She went and got her the pills with some water and brought them back. As soon as Cuddy had swallowed them, she helped her up and walked her back to her bed. "Anything else?"

"Where's your father at?"

Gabrielle stood there for a moment as she hesitated to answer. She had a problem with telling her that he was downstairs, and most likely wasted. "I think he's still down in the kitchen."

There was no need for further explanation. Cuddy knew what he was doing, and it bothered her. It was obvious from the start that he would slowly drift away from her, but that didn't stop her from feeling hurt by it.

The room was awkwardly silent for a moment. Gabrielle could see tears starting to form in Cuddy's eyes, but she didn't know whether they were from pain or from her father, but she wasn't about to ask. "In case you haven't noticed, he hasn't actually left you yet. He's just downstairs trying to deal with himself." Cuddy looked up to her. She looked like she wanted to say something, but just couldn't. "Its impossible to help someone when you yourself are a complete mess."

"Right," Cuddy weakly responded.

Gabrielle sighed. "I can't stand here and watch you like this." She reached her hand down into her pocket and pulled out an orange pill bottle. "Here," she said as she handed it to her, "I think one of these will help."

Cuddy took the bottle and read the label. "How did you get these?" she nervously asked.

"He's drunk. It wasn't that hard to go and find one of his "secret" hiding places," Gabrielle said.

"Gabi, I don't like the idea of you carrying Vicodin around," Cuddy said as she opened the bottle.

Gabrielle laughed as she watched Cuddy take one. "Well, I knew that daddy wouldn't be coming up here tonight, and then there's that whole Murphy's law meaning that you would definitely need him tonight. I was just trying to cover everything."

"I guess tonight I can just be grateful. I'll talk to you about stealing pills tomorrow," Cuddy said as she tried to get comfortable.

"Works for me. You need anything else while I'm up?"

"No. Good night."

"Good night," Gabrielle said. She stood there a minute and then turned and left.

The next morning everyone got up and headed to the hospital. House was hungover, Cuddy was still somewhat out of it and Gabrielle sat there and watched the two. She knew that the tension would be high today, but the fact that neither of the two would look at each other started to worry her. She knew why Cuddy wasn't talking to House, she was waiting for him to approach her. She wanted him to be the one to speak the first words. Then House, well, she figured that he was too sick to talk to anyone and then especially too sick to get yelled at, which he knew would happen sooner or later.

"Dr. House? Dr. Cuddy? May I please speak to you?"

Gabrielle noticed that neither one was answering the doctor and turned over to face them. "Hey! The doctor here wants to see the happy couple! I think its concerning your daughter."

Both House and Cuddy made their way over to him and were lead out the door. "Alright," he started. The file was open in his hand as he studied it. "There is something in your daughter's lungs that is keeping her from receiving the oxygen that she needs. In order to see what it is, we will have to open her up."

Those words, open her up, stung Cuddy. Her baby, they had to open up her baby. As hard as she wanted to pay attention to the rest of what he was saying, she couldn't. The most she was aware of was the fact that House was talking to him. Without even giving it a second thought, Cuddy turned and walked back into the waiting room.

"So you ran away to?" Gabrielle asked. She was sitting in the chair right beside the door. There was a certain trace of betrayal in her voice.

Cuddy stopped and looked back to her. "How dare you?" she asked.

"I wasn't insulting you. I was simply trying to prove a point."

"Of course, you were sticking up for your dad again. He runs out time after time, gets drunk, ignores everyone and he's the one you stand up for. Why would I expect any different?" Cuddy asked and then turned and kept walking.

Gabrielle quickly jumped up from her seat and caught up to Cuddy. "Where did that come from?"

Cuddy stopped and once again turned to her. "Tell me to my face that you don't try to cover for him anytime something goes wrong and he runs off."

Gabrielle stood there in disbelief. "Three things wrong with this right now. First, you do the same thing for him. Second, he's my father and he's one of the only people left in my life. Third, what the hell does that have to do with any of this?"

"The first thing that came out of your mouth was that I was just as bad as him. They are getting ready to operate on Elisabeth and that is what you care about, proving to me that I'm no better," Cuddy said and then started to walk again.

Gabrielle just stood there in disbelief. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," she called out.

"Maybe that's what you should have done, asked about your sister rather than make Greg sound better," she responded without stopping.

Gabrielle ran to catch up to her. "Wait, what are they doing? Why does she need surgery?"

Cuddy looked to her with tears in her eyes. "Listen. I am tired of you, of your father, of everyone. I don't want to talk to either of you right now. Just leave me alone before you make things worse."

Gabrielle froze as she stood there and watched Cuddy walk off. The words played through her head over and over again. "Just leave me alone before you make things worse" like some sort of broken record. "Just leave before you screw up my life even more," she said softly to herself and then turned and walked back to the waiting room and saw House staring off into a daze. "What did he say?"

House quickly looked over. "Oxygen is blocked. They're going in to see what's going on."

"I see," Gabrielle said. She turned and walked over to the bathroom. She went into the far back corner of the place and let herself collapse onto the floor. The tears fell from her eyes without anything to stop them. As she saw it, her sister was extremely ill, her father was slowly distancing himself from his family and then the one that she thought of as a mother just told her the same thing that her mother would tell her when she was drunk and angry with her. It was all falling apart around her, and there was not one thing that she could do to stop it.

House just blankly stared as he sat in the waiting room. He knew exactly what they would be doing to Elisabeth, and he knew that no matter what they found, it wasn't going to be good. All this time he had finally gathered the courage to commit to something, and it all starts to go wrong for him. Gabrielle had been right when she had asked if he was afraid of this all happening. He was. His fears were coming true on him and he couldn't handle it.

Cuddy went out and sat in the car. The one place where she figured that they would not look for her. She wanted to just simply give up. Everything that she wanted in life came so hard. The man she fell in love with was Gregory House, that in itself is asking for a hard time. She had miscarried three times before deciding to adopt, and then the first adoption fell through. Once she did get to adopt, she found out that she sucked as a mother. Once she got the hang of that, she gets set up on a date with House and gets pregnant with twins and finds out she has pancreatitus. Up to this point, everything has been against her. "Obviously House had it right the first time," she said to herself thinking back on the time that House had told her that she would have sucked as a mother.


	14. Mom

Chapter 14: Mom

Gabrielle wiped her face in the back of her sleeve as she closed the bathroom door behind her. There was nothing that she wanted more than to erase the last five minutes of her life. To simply go on as if it had never even happened. But there was something that she had learned form it. Something that had opened her eyes. Her father ran away from from everything. This was a well known fact, but now she had been wondering about last night's offer. What was he really trying to do?

As she walked down the hall towards the waiting room, she kept her head down. This was her way of avoiding other people, letting them know that she was not about to stop and talk to them.

There she was, the doorway to the waiting room. She stood there and watched him. Head down, deep in thought. She knew that there was more going on in that head of his rather than what was going on with Elisabeth, but she didn't want to go there. "Daddy?" she asked as she slowly walked over.

His head popped up and briefly looked over just to see who she was and then went back to staring at the floor. "What?" he gruffly asked. The last thing he wanted to hear about was what he should be doing. He knew that she had most likely been talking to Cuddy and he knew that he should go check on her, but he couldn't He couldn't been himself to see that constant reminder of what was really going on. He wanted to be there for her, but every time that he saw her face, he would see Elisabeth, he would see what he was truly at risk of losing.

Gabrielle sighed. This was going to be hard to bring up, but she had to sometime and this was the time for it to be done. Crossing her arms. she sat down on the arm of the chair. "Why did you invite me to go to New York with you last night?"

"I don't know," House said showing his frustration. This was not something that he wanted to think about, he had more important things on his mind. "Why does it matter?"

"Because it doesn't seem right that you would just all the sudden ask me to go somewhere with you and without everyone else. Especially right after someone gets sick."

"Nothing's ever going to be perfect, but the whole world doesn't stop for every little incident."

Gabrielle stood up. "I just don't want you using me as an excuse to run away from your problems." With that, she turned and walked away.

House just sat there and watched her walk off. "Right," he said softly to himself.

Cuddy walked back into the building and slipped into her office. She made sure that the blinds were pulled and that the door was locked. There was no way that anyone could see her like this.

Slowly, but surely, she made it over to the couch and plopped down. It had taken a lot of effort, but she had made it there before she broke down. For the next few minutes all she wanted to do was just sit there and let the tears go.

Gabrielle went and sat in her father's office. She left the blinds closed and then lights off. There was sun outside, but the room was still dim. There was blank paper before her, so she had decided to just go ahead and use it to draw.

One of the reasons she loved to draw was because it took a lot of her attention. It was something that she had to really focus on. It distracted her from what was going on around her.

"Gabi?"

Gabrielle looked up. It was Cuddy. She had no idea how long she had been sitting in the office, but she had known that drawing seemed to pass the time very quickly. "Yeah?" she asked expecting that she was going to mention something about going home.

"Earlier," Cuddy started.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about it," Gabrielle coldly stated. She set the pencil down and looked up. She knew that she shouldn't be, but she was still mad at her. The words earlier had stung her, and when she entered the room, the feelings were brought back.

Cuddy was slightly taken aback by her reaction. "I understand," Cuddy said. "But I would still like to say sorry."

Gabrielle still sat there, giving her the same look. "Accepted." There was no emotion what so ever.

"Right," Cuddy said. Again, tears were starting to form in her eyes. She tried her hardest to fight them. The last thing she wanted was for people to see her cry right now. "I'll be over at the waiting room." She got the to door and then paused. Looking back, she kept her hand on the handle. "You know when I earlier said that I didn't want to lose any of my kids? You're one of them," she said and then waited a second before she opened the door.

Gabrielle sat there at the desk and slowly laid her head down.

Gabrielle sat there at the desk until House came to his office. "What's with you?" he asked.

Gabrielle lifted her head. "Nothing," she lied. "How is everything going?" she asked trying to get off topic.

House took a seat. "Well," he said as he set his cane down. "I haven't heard anything yet, so I guess that's a good sign."

Gabrielle just watched him for a second. She was still stuck on the idea that he was about to use her. What got her though, was that she wasn't as hurt as she thought that she should be. "About New York again," she started.

House rolled his eyes. "If you don't wanna go all you have to say is that you don't wanna go."

"I wanna go, but I also think that Lisa should come," Gabrielle said.

"Fine, its a deal," he said.

Gabrielle stood up. "Really? That's it?" she asked.

House leaned back and closed his eyes. "Yep."

Gabrielle folded her arms and leaned back against the wall opposite from House. "Okay then," she said. "You're better than I thought," she said and then left.

She was still feeling bad about earlier, which she knew she should. Without any hesitation, she turned and walked down the hall and made her way to the waiting room, where she knew Cuddy would be.

When she got there she scoped out the room and finally spotted her. Walking over to join her she could hear other conversations going on about what they would do once they got out of there and what was going to happen from now on, all of the stuff that had somehow become unimportant to her at the moment.

"Lisa?"

Cuddy, who was staring down towards the ground, looked up. "Hey," she said. Her voice trembling and face red.

"I just wanted you to know, I'm not mad at you," Gabrielle sat down beside her. "And I completely understand your reaction. "I should've asked about Elisabeth before anything else."

"Thank you," Cuddy said.

"Sure. And also, I know that the surgery is tomorrow. I can have Ally help me out with Rachel and Jessica if you and Daddy want to stay here the entire time."

Cuddy slightly laughed. "I don't think I could do that to you. Besides, there's no way that Greg would let me stay the night here, which really he's right, I have other babies to take care of."

"All right then," Gabrielle said as she stood up. "I just want you to know that if you need anything at all."

Cuddy smiled up to her. "Thanks for the offer," she said.

"Well, I'm gonna go back and finish drawing, do whatever," Gabrielle said and then turned to leave.

"See ya," Cuddy said.

"Bye mom," Gabrielle said as she walked off.

Cuddy quickly looked towards Gabrielle with surprise. When it had finally hit her what Gabrielle had said, a small smile came across her face.


	15. Getting Better

Chapter 15: Getting Better

Gabrielle walked into the waiting room, her school uniform still on, and sat down next to her father. He place was usually pretty quiet, it was after all the waiting room. The only place where people gathered around and pondered on the absolute worst that could happen. It was hard for her to bring herself to it, but she had to know. The surgery was scheduled for earlier in the morning, so she figured that they must have known something by now. "Well?" she asked.

House slowly lifted his head and looked over to her. His blue weary eyes looking to her, showing some sort of relief. "Protein build up in the lungs, all they have to do is clean it out with a saline solution every once in a while." There was more to it, but he wasn't about to tell her that. What she knew was the only part worth knowing right now.

Gabrielle was about to ask what all that meant, but stopped herself. This wasn't the time. There was only one thing that she absolutely needed to know. "So she's going to be alright?"

"Should be," House said.

"How's Lisa doing?" she asked.

House sighed as he took a minute to think to himself. "Edgy," was all that he could think to say.

"I see," Gabrielle said. "I think tonight you should spend some time with her, she feels like you don't care."

"Because I didn't coddle her every second we were here?" House asked. "I think if she would have wanted that she would be with Wilson the human teddy bear right now instead of me."

Gabrielle shrugged. "That might be where you're leading her," she said and then stood up to go find Cuddy.

House sat there and blankly stared for a minute. As soon as Gabrielle was out of sight, he left the room.

Gabrielle went and found Cuddy in her office, hiding away from everyone. There was a look of content on her face as she looked through a few photos. "Mom?" she asked as she peeked into the room.

"Come in," Cuddy said as she slid the pictures back into her desk drawer.

Gabrielle went and sat down on the couch. "I guess you're feeling a bit better now," she said.

Cuddy slowly looked up. She knew exactly what was going on, and she really didn't know how to take it. "She does have a good chance, but the fact that she's my daughter certainly lowers it."

"What are you talking about?" Gabrielle asked.

"She has a rare disease, she will most likely be fine if she keeps up with treatments but sometimes hey don't work out as well and the patient ends up needing a new lung and after that either the disease can get worse or they might not take to the new lung."

"Or, they could be fine and their mother can stop being so negative," Gabrielle said.

Cuddy sat back and folded her arms. "My infant daughter has an already rare disease. Most of the people who have it are middle aged men which puts her in an even more rare category. I'm sorry if my optimism is a little low."

Gabrielle knew she had every right to be negative, but she couldn't let her stay that way. The last thing that this family needed was more negativity. "Don't you find it depressing that you have two healthy daughters at home and this one here is still alive and all you can focus on is the fact that she's not perfect?" It was harsh, but she had to show her that there were good things to look forward to. They had to all move on from the stand still depression they had all been in for the past few days.

Cuddy looked to her like she was offended. "So because I'm concerned I'm a bad mother?" Normally she would have thought before asking such a question, but being sleep deprived and stressed wasn't doing much for her ability to think.

Gabrielle slightly laughed. "Where the hell did that come from? I was merely telling you to cheer up. Elisabeth isn't dead, or even dieing for that matter." Gabrielle's expression softened and she looked to her with sympathy. "I know that you're having a hard time, but please believe me, you have to be thankful for what you have and move on. Rachel and Jessica miss their mommy, and things just need to get back to the way that they were before Elisabeth got sick."

They both sat there silently in the room for a minute. That was how Gabrielle had confirmed to herself that she had hit the right buttons. The hard one would be getting her father to move on from the mentality that he has been in for the past few days. It was mean, but she had to get them back to normal. She didn't know how much more she could take of it. "I'm gonna get going, see you tonight." Gabrielle stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "I miss having parents too," she said to herself and then headed towards the doors to leave. Before she reached the doors, she stopped. House walked in with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of champagne. "Good luck," she quietly mumbled and then continued out the door.

There was no knock at the door, he simply entered the room without warning. "I'm sorry," was all that came from his mouth.

Cuddy looked up to him. She didn't know what to say. Her eyes followed him as he approached the desk and set the bottle down along with the flowers. "I think that's one of the first meaningful things that you've said to me in a few days."

"That's why I'm sorry," he said. The awkwardness that he was feeling as he searched for what to say was getting harder for him to hide as he stood there. This was something that he wasn't used to, but he knew that he had to do it. Gabrielle's words were ringing in his head, "that might be where you're leading her." That was what it took, the mere thought of losing her, to get him to finally talk to her. "I should have been more like a human being, or how ever you wanna phrase it," he said.

Cuddy stood up and wrapped her arms around him. The first feeling of comfort that she had had in a while. The first time that she had not felt lonely. Her small thank you was muffled by chest. House could feel her beginning to cry and hated it. He hated knowing that he had left her, he hated knowing that there was nothing he could do about Elisabeth, he hated knowing that deep down, he would never change. This was it. This was most likely how it will always be, him screwing up and having to come back and make up for it. Not having the capacity to actually face anything and letting everyone else around him suffer for it, only to be welcomed back and given another chance. He just hoped that Gabrielle was wrong earlier when she said that he could be leading her to another man.

"Why do you love me?" he asked as he blankly stared forward. That was one thing that could not be answered by science or by logic.

Cuddy pulled back, but kept her arms around him. "Are you questioning my judgment?" she teasingly asked. Although she was teasing, she was bothered by the fact that she wasn't exactly able to answer that question. All she knew was that she couldn't get through the day without seeing him or at least knowing that she would be able to see him again.

"I don't know. Do you have an answer?" he asked.

"All I know is that you're the only person that I wanted by me when Elisabeth was sick, and the fact that you weren't there hurt me more than I ever imagined it would."

Those very words stung him, but he needed to hear them. "Right," he said. That was all that he needed.


	16. Back To Normal

Chapter 16: Back to Normal…..

It was the first day that Elisabeth had been back home. It was also the first day that Cuddy had seemed to go completely without sleep. There was something that kept her there, kept her in that nursery. All she wanted to do now, all she could do now was sit there and watch over her. Jessica and Rachel were considered to okay in her mind, but the second she left Elisabeth alone, she knew that something would go wrong.

It was seven in the morning. The house was pretty quiet, except for Gabrielle who was getting ready for school. She was making her way back to her room to grab a few things, when she stopped and noticed the open door. "Mom? You in there?" she asked as she poked her head into the dim room.

"Yeah?" Cuddy asked as she turned to her.

Gabrielle turned on the lights and then looked to her with concern. The darkest eyes she had seen in a while. The look of despair in her bloodshot eyes. "Did you sleep at all last night?" She knew that this would happen, but she didn't like it.

"I dozed off a few times, but I don't know for how long," she said. In order to look busy, she started to fold some clothes that were out on top of the dresser.

"Okay, well, I gotta get to school now. See ya later," Gabrielle said.

"Bye," Cuddy said.

Gabrielle walked down to House and Cuddy's bedroom and slightly opened the door. "Daddy?" she asked. The last thing she wanted was for Cuddy to over hear what they were about to be talking about.

"What?" he gruffly asked from under the covers.

"Lisa's looking a little worn out. I don't think that she actually made it to bed last night. I would go check on her if I were you," she said keeping her voice down.

House sat up and looked over to the other side of the bed. "Hmm." He stood up and left the room. "Thanks for the heads up," he said as he passed Gabrielle.

"No problem," she said and then went in to check on Rachel. "Well good morning there," she said seeing that Rachel was sitting up in her crib. "And why haven't you made any noise yet? Are you hungry?" Gabrielle picked her up and took her downstairs. She had a few minutes until she had to leave, so she figured that she would be the one to feed her this morning.

House limped into the room. "And how did you sleep last night?"

Cuddy jumped and turned to him. "Good morning, did you want anything for breakfast?" she asked. There was no way that he didn't know that she had stayed up all night. It was easy to see.

"Nope, I got a better idea." Without warning, House grabbed Cuddy and picked her up. It wasn't all that easy on his leg, but he had to do it.

"Greg!" Cuddy quietly snapped. "Put me down!"

"Don't think so," House said. Once he got her to the bed, he set her down. Keeping hold of her wrist, he pulled back the covers. "Okay, bedtime!" he announced.

"I'm not a little kid. You can't just tell me to go to bed," Cuddy argued.

"Lisa, if you keep going like this I'm pretty sure your brain will be similar to that of one. Now get under the covers and get some damn sleep for gods sake. You look like you got punched in each eye." House stood there and motioned to the bed.

"First tell me where Rachel is," she demanded.

"Gabs got her. Now sleep, before you start looking like an old hag," House said.

Cuddy looked over and sighed in defeat. The pillow looked too comfy and the sheet to cozy. Her eyelids were about to just drop. Desperately, she wanted to fight back, but the thought of sleep was just too good to her. "Fine, but only for a little bit," she said.

"Good girl," House said. He watched her get into bed and then kissed her. He knew what was happening, she was slowly falling apart before him. The last sight that he had ever wanted to see, ever. In the back of his head he had always figured that he would be the one to fall apart before her.

Leaving the room, he left the door slightly open. He wanted to make sure that she didn't have to get up for the rest of the day.

OooOOOoooOOOooo

Gabrielle sat on top of her desk at school as she talked to Ally. "So everyone's back home now," she said.

"That's good. Must be nice being all together again," Ally said. She softly smiled as she leaned against the window sill.

Gabrielle laughed. "Like we're ever going to be somewhat together."

"I'll be together with you," Ian said as he walked up behind Gabrielle. He was also one of the new kids along with Gabrielle. He had short black hair and bright green eyes. His round face was somewhat boyish which seemed to make him look innocent. He was tall, but he was also built.

"Right, and they're successfully building an ice rink in hell," Gabrielle remarked.

Ian got up on the desk and sat next to her. "My father told me that I could do anything I wanted as long as I put my mind to it."

Gabrielle smiled. "Well," she said looking to him, "my daddy said that he's not afraid to prison for killing who ever does me."

"You mean the cripple?" Ian asked.

Gabrielle smirked. "I mean the one with all the sharp instruments, lethal drugs and good aiming."

Ian nodded in approval. "Nice," he said. "That doesn't mean that I don't have a chance with you though."

"The only way that there will ever be a Gabrielle present with you is if you named your hand Gabrielle. And even then, I doubt you'll be able to find much down there," Gabrielle said.

Ally looked down and shyly laughed. It was hard for her to ever say anything like that. A part of her always wanted to be more outgoing, but the other part of her knew that it was dangerous to get too close to other people. All that friends brought were people that knew more about your home life, and along with that curiosity which turned into questions. There was always the choice of lying, but usually she was always caught in her lying.

"You couldn't handle what I got down there," Ian shot back.

"Considering that that could be anything from some disgusting pus secreting STD to a pussy, I wouldn't shout that around," she said and then walked away. She sat down and looked over to see that Ally had followed her.

"Problem?" Ally asked.

"Yeah," Gabrielle said as she furrowed her brow in confusion. "One of us back there was completely turned on, and I'm still not sure of which one of us it was." She softened her expression and smiled up at Ally. "It is cute the way that he thinks he has a chance isn't it?"

"Adorable," Ally agreed.

"Hey Gabi!"

Gabrielle turned and saw Kevin Richards. "Party at my place on Friday!"

"I'll try!" she called back.

The final bell rang and everyone rushed out of the classroom. Ally stuck behind as she waited for Gabrielle to grab her things. "Must be nice to be invited to everything."

"Yeah well, I don't think I'm gonna go anyways," Gabrielle said. They walked out into the hall and stopped at Gabrielle's locker.

"What do you mean? His parties are huge! Anyone who is anyone goes, and you got your chance," Ally said.

Gabrielle sighed as she opened her locker and pulled out her coat. "My parents just came home and they have three babies that need to be taken care of. I think I should be there to help out. They're both already under a lot of stress right now."

Ally watched as Gabrielle closed her locker and then lead the way to hers. "I think you should get out," she stated as she opened hers and grabbed what she needed. "I haven't seen you outside of school yet," closing her locker she paused. "Well, besides the project at least."

"When things get a little better we will start hanging out more. Okay?" Gabrielle knew that she hadn't been out much, but she really didn't want to talk about it. "Just let this pass," she impatiently said.

Ally sadly sighed. "Are you in trouble for something that I don't know about?"

Gabrielle paused and looked to her. "No, I'm not. I'm just responsible."

"For kids that aren't even yours," Ally said.

"You don't understand," Gabrielle said. "I've never had a family before. This is it. Now I've got one, it just so happens that the one I have isn't very stable, and any little thing can make it fall apart. I saw that over the last couple of weeks and it scared me. Now there's no way that I am going to let it get that close to falling apart again."

Ally shook her head. "You were the first friend I thought I had. You're just too busy to ever get out of the house."

Gabrielle stood there and watched her walk away. It was hard for her to understand why exactly, but she did feel responsible for every little thing that would go wrong between House and Cuddy. She felt like she had to be there to keeps things calm and to pick up the pieces.


	17. Something I can Never Have

Chapter 17: Something I Can Never Have

Gabrielle sat up in her room. It was the night of the party, the party that she had no intention of going to. Just like every other night, she was going to sit in, and watch. Watch for any fights, for anyone who needed anything. It was beginning to repeat itself, the cycle of something going wrong, Cuddy needing House and House wasn't there because of personal reasons and then he ends up hurt. It was a bit annoying to her, how needy each one could become at times, but she loved them. More importantly, they loved her.

Cuddy was walking back from the nursery to head downstairs, but stopped and stepped into Gabrielle's room. "Hey Gabi, what are you doing home? It's Friday night."

"I know," Gabrielle said without looking away from the computer screen before her.

Cuddy sat down on the edge of her bed and watched her for a minute. "I think it would be good for you to get out for a little bit. A lot has been going on around here lately."

Gabrielle sighed and looked back. She should have known by now that there was no hiding anything in this house. The both of them seemed to never miss anything. "Just because things go rough doesn't mean that you have to walk out."

"I never said that. I just suggested that maybe you should go do something." Cuddy sat there in the silence and waited a moment before saying anything else. "Has something been bothering you?"

Of course there was. The fact that she couldn't count on her little family sticking together. The fact that she had no idea they had gotten this far together. The fact that her little sister is sick, the fact that she felt responsible for everything. But, there was no way that she was going to tell Cuddy that. It was easy to see that she had caught up on a little sleep and that she was thinking more clearly, but the last thing that she needed was to hear some teenager whine to her. "No, just a little tired, that's all."

"Alright," Cuddy said. There was no way that she was going to get anything out of Gabrielle right now, so she figured she would just try again later.

Gabrielle sat there and watched Cuddy leave the room. She had random memories and thoughts that suddenly began to flood her head. It was no secret to her that she had grown up too quickly for her own good. Deep down she knew that what she was doing wouldn't help anything. No matter mow foolish or childish she might have been though, there was still that lingering fear. The fear that she would go back to who she used to be. To the troublemaker, being more street smart than book smart, skipping school and forgetting entire weekends. Even scarier than that was the fact that all it would take would be the loss of one more person in her life. Everyone around her was on edge of breaking down, but no one noticed that she had already begun to slip.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

It was later that night. Gabrielle was still home. The sad thing to her was that she knew that the next party that she would be invited to, they would try even harder to get her to go. Right now in her absence she knew that people were claiming that she had better and cooler things to do than to waste her time there with them. The worst part of it is that it made her more popular. Any party that she agreed to go to must be worth it, all the others she figured she would be wasting her time on. That was actually something that she had heard someone say before.

It was time to leave the house and go out somewhere. The party was still going strong, there was no doubt about that. She forced herself to grab her coat and head downstairs. "I'm going out, might not be back until tomorrow morning," she told House as she went from the stairs to the door.

"Really?" House asked.

Gabrielle stopped and backed up. "Yeah," she answered. "There's a party going on and I decided to go to it."

"All right. If you're stupid enough to get drunk or high, call me and let me know that you're staying the night there. I'll tell Lisa it was a sleep over you went to." House knew that was a bad thing to tell your teenage daughter, but this was the only time that he had seen her go out. Besides, he doubted that she would even stay out long enough to try anything.

Gabrielle got in the car and drove over to Ally's house first. She owed her this. Instead of going to the door and waking everyone up, she texted Ally to go outside, that she was there to take her to the party. It was only a minute before Ally came out and joined Gabrielle. "Really?" she asked in excitement as she closed the passenger door.

"Yep," Gabrielle said. "We are really going tonight."

They showed up to the party. Without even knocking, they just walked in. Loud music and the sound of alcohol mixed with that of weed amongst the crowded house gave away how things were going. Kevin, who had had a few drinks, walked over and put his arm around Gabrielle. "Hey everyone!" he yelled out getting everyone's attention. "Gabrielle Zbin made it!"

There was a small cheer as Gabrielle smiled and waved. "I know, I know, this was nothing before I showed up. But please, do not stop on my account. Just set up a table and bring me twenty four cups, a ping pong ball and twenty four half shots of vodka." This was how her life used to be, and she was just now realizing how much she missed it.

Ally looked to her with wide eyes. "What's that?" she asked.

Gabrielle looked down to her and laughed. "Its beer pong, but with vodka. You put half shots in the cups and you have a couple people on a team. So really, each person only has three shots."

"Oh," Ally said. She knew that this stuff did go on, she had just never been apart of it before.

"You wanna be on my team?" Gabrielle asked.

Ally shrugged. "Sure." She then followed Kevin and Gabrielle into the back room.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Later that night, after a game of vodka pong and some dancing and what not, Gabrielle, Ally and Kevin snuck off to the basement. She did what she had to do first, call her dad. "Hey daddy?" she asked.

"Yes?" House could tell right away that she had drank.

"I um, I had a few drinks. I think I'm gonna just, you k now, stay here," Gabrielle said.

"At least you're not attempting to drive. All right, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye dad," she said and then hung up. She then looked down and realized that she had a joint in her hand. "You have a lighter?"

Kevin pulled one out and lit his and hers. He then looked over to Ally. "You want one?" he asked.

Ally just shook her head. "I'm fine."

Gabrielle took a puff and sat back against the wall. "You know, this is the first time I have had a lot of fun in a while."

Kevin nodded. "You were something out there. You looked like you had been to a few parties before. You were even showing people new things, like different things you can put into a bong."

Gabrielle laughed. "Come on, common sense."

Ally looked over to her. "Why has it been so long since you've had fun?"

"Well," Gabrielle said. "I grew up too fast. I really did. Too fucking fast," she said adn then took another puff. "when I was little, my mom, she was an alcoholic and I had to stay with this bitch, my aunt. After being physically abused, I learned to take care of myself, and then to forget about my problems every weekend. This right here used to be every weekend for me all through middle school. Then high school came and I straightened out and then surprise surprise, my mom dies." She stopped and took another puff. Both Ally and Kevin just watched, neither of them knew what to say. "I almost had to go live with that bitch."

Kevin leaned over and wrapped his arm around her as she started to cry. "My daddy found a way to keep me. His girlfriend got custody of me, cus we knew he couldn't do it. Now, everytime something goes wrong I get scared. I have a family now, something that I really haven't had and I don't want to lose that. I don't wanna have to go back to the way things were before hand. Every ficking thing though seems to get those two to fight."

"All right, all right," Kevin said. "Just calm down."

lly looked over. "I think we should change the subject now."

"You think?" Kevin asked.

Gabrielle dried off her eyes. "Anyone know how to make a long island ice tea? Cus I think I could if you two want any."

"Sure," Ally said, not really sure as to what she was talking about.

"Maybe later," Gabrielle said. The random memories were all rushing through her head. Her true fears surfacing. Normally, she would have never told anyone about that, but she was drunk. Apparently not drunk enough to forget.


	18. Merry Christmas part 1

Chapter 18: Merry Christmas (part 1)

It had been three months since Gabrielle had gone to the party. Since then she had seemed to let go of some of her worries, but there was still some need to do everything she could to keep them together. It was getting close to Christmas, which was in a week. She had finished her exams and was now on her first day off. They had decided to skip Thanksgiving this year and just focus on the twins, but they did however celebrate Hanukuh for Cuddy and Rachel and in return, Cuddy wanted to celebrate Christmas for Gabrielle. The first Christmas since her mother had died. This was about to mark the one year anniversary of her death.

Gabrielle sat upstairs in her room. Before her on the bed she had the pictures from last years Christmas party. Her Aunt Tiffany's birthday party, always three days after New Years. The New Years Eve party. They were all there. The last couple of weeks that she had spent with her mother. There was one picture in particular that she could not keep her eyes off of. It was of her and Maria together. Before the pink had been put into her hair. They sat there together under the Christmas tree as they opened gifts. Gabrielle had on a Santa hat with her pajamas while Maria wore a robe over her pajamas. She reached over and picked it up. In her hand, she could see a Kohls gift card.

_"I promise, the first thing we'll do when we get home is take you clothes shopping," Maria said. She rarely took Gabrielle to go shopping for anything fun. She was just getting sober again and had stayed dry since the summer. _

_Gabrielle was excited to go with her. "All right! Its a deal!" It was a big deal for her to just go out and do something with her mom. _

Her eyes started to water as she set the picture down. Setting the picture down, she reached over and grabbed her purse off the floor next to the bed. Taking her wallet out, she opened it and took out the Kohls gift card for fifty dollars. Never used. "Broke your promise again," she quietly said as she tried her hardest to laugh.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

House and Cuddy sat in the nursery. Each had a baby in their arms, Cuddy had Jessica while House had Elisabeth. "Did you get Gabi anything?" Cuddy asked. She knew that he wasn't much of a shopper and was going to wait until the absolute last minute.

"I'm going to the store tomorrow," House said.

"Just make sure its before Christmas," Cuddy replied.

"Hey, I didn't see you wrapping anything yet," House remarked. He knew that she really didn't have much time to go out and get anything, but he still wanted to mess with her.

"I've bought for everyone here. I just haven't had the chance to wrap anything yet," Cuddy said.

House rolled his eyes. "You're lying, I can tell. You just wanna make me feel bad and go get my shopping over with."

"You know, you did surprise me when it came to Rachel's birthday." Cuddy smiled as she thought back a couple weeks to Rachel's first birthday.

"It was a doll. I think anyone is capable of going into a store, grabbing a stuffed penguin and then putting a bow on it to give to a baby."

"You didn't put the bow on it," Cuddy said.

"All right, Gabi put the bow on it."

Cuddy looked up and smiled to him. "She still won't put it down though."

"Do you find people who are co-dependant to be cute?" House asked.

It was Cuddy's turn to roll her eyes. "Thank you Greg." He truly did surprise her at times. It was those times that she was glad that she was with him. Even when he was being a complete ass though, there was something that she couldn't resist about him. Something that she loved about him.

Once House finished taking care of Elisabeth, he decided to go into the bedroom and look for something. He had every little box and safe out on the bed and was going through them one at a time. Cuddy walked in and stood at the doorway. "Looking for something in particular?"

House briefly looked up to her and then went back to what he was doing. "Yeah," he said.

Cuddy laughed. "You think you could be a bit more specific than that?" She walked over closer to him and watched as he dug through the small box. As soon as he was done, he closed the box and shoved it to the side and then grabbed another to look through.

"I'm looking for a ring," he said.

"What?" Cuddy asked. "Your class ring?"

"No, the ring that I had gotten for Maria. I'm thinking about giving it to Gabrielle."

Cuddy looked to him with confusion as she sat down on the side of the bed. "You still have that?"

"I think I do. I was too lazy to go take it back." Back when he was hoping to propose to her, she broke up with him before he could. At the time, he was hurt. There was nothing that he could actually do to change her mind. For some reason though, he felt that he had to hang onto the ring. That he had to keep it, just in case. "I'm sure that I had it here somewhere."

Cuddy just sat there and watched. It was somewhat hard for her to believe that he would have kept something like that. "And that's going to be Gabrielle's Christmas present?" she asked.

House paused and looked up to her. "Don't worry, I'm still going out and going shopping for her too."

"No," Cuddy said. "I was just wondering, that's all."

"Hmm." House went back to looking.

Cuddy stood up and slowly walked to the doorway. Once she was in the entrance, she stopped and turned to watch him for another moment. It was still a bit hard for her to believe that he had kept the ring. There was no use for it. There was no logical reason to save it. "Let me know when you find it," she said.

"Yeah," House answered, distracted to the point where he really hadn't paid any attention to what she had said.

Cuddy just turned and left the room, leaving House there to search through his boxes.

**I know that this chapter is pretty short, but the next one is going to be super long. **


	19. Merry Christmas part 2

Chapter 19: Merry Christmas (part 2)

Gabrielle walked into the house carrying a couple bags. "I'm home."

"Congrats. You know how to get here," House said from the couch where he was using his laptop.

"Very funny," Gabrielle remarked as she set the bags down. She removed her coat and put it into the closet. The quietness surrounding her, suddenly hit her. "You two finally got all three of them to sleep at once?"

"Nope," House replied without looking up from the screen. "She took two of them with her to go shopping."

"Why didn't she wait for me?" Gabrielle asked as she walked over and stood behind the couch. "I could have helped her with the babies."

House turned back to her. "I think she's shopping for you, therefore, you being there would ruin the surprise."

Gabrielle went and sat down next to him. "You know, you never did tell me what you wanted for Christmas."

"To get drunk," he said without looking up. He was concentrating on something at the moment and really didn't want to talk.

Gabrielle sighed. "All right," she said and then stood up. "I guess I'll have to go get the fake ID again." She looked over to see if House was paying attention to her, and of course, he wasn't. Not really giving it much thought though, she shrugged it off and started back towards the stairs.

"Why is this Christmas thing such a big deal to you? Other than getting a few days off of school?"

Gabrielle stopped and looked back to him. "I like it," she said. "I don't know. I mean, I do believe in Christ, but its also a bit of a sentimental thing to me too. Every year I celebrated it, and it just wouldn't feel right to just stop acknowledging it." She took a few steps back towards the couch and hesitated a minute before saying anything. "Don't you have something that you do every year? Just something that you used to do as a kid or maybe just started a few years ago that you just have to do every year or else you don't feel right?"

House put the laptop onto the table and positioned himself on the couch to face her. This was all stuff that he had never given any thought to. He himself didn't have any rituals or anything that he did every year, or month, or week or whatever. "I take Vicodin everytime I feel pain. Does that count?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "I think that's more than a celebration to you there. You have turned that into a sport of some kind."

"Do you think the kids will get into this stuff when they're older?" he asked. It was a bit of a stupid question. What kid didn't get into a holiday in which they got gifts.

"Yes, yes I do." Gabrielle walked back over to the couch and leaned on the back of it. "Didn't you ever enjoy Christmas? Ever?"

"My Christmases consisted of my mom and I pretending that we were okay with the fact that my father couldn't be there. I never liked him much, but I was still pissed that he wasn't there. All my mom did was mope around the house like the world was going to freakin end."

"I see," Gabrielle said. She had known that House must have had a bad experience with holidays. Cuddy had been the one to tell her that he was abused by his father, and she herself had spent a few holidays with Eloise. It sucked, but it still didn't ruin anything for her. "I bet we're a happier bunch."

"If this is about the present, I already got you a few," House said.

"Okay," Gabrielle said. "Is one of then letting me get drunk with you and then going out and lighting off fireworks in the front yard?"

"Why not?" House asked.

"You're such a good father. Warms my heart," Gabrielle said as she laid her hands over her heart and looked to him with her best sad face.

"I just got a warm fuzzy feeling. Oh wait, nope, that was gas."

"Such an emotional person." Gabrielle stood up and walked back towards where she left the bags and then took them upstairs to her room.

o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cuddy walked into the house pushing a stroller.

"Hey!" House called to her from over on the couch.

"Hey," she said as she crouched down before the stroller and started getting Jessica. "How was Elisabeth?"

"I don't know," House said. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I had Jessica and Rachel," she said, thinking that he had Jessica and Elisabeth mixed up.

"And Elisabeth," he said.

Cuddy nervously looked over to House adn then stood up and slowly walked over to him. "What do you mean?"

"Hi mom," Gabrielle said as she walked out of the kitchen. "I went ahead and cooked dinner tonight."

"Did you notice Elisabeth here?" Cuddy asked.

Gabrielle shook her head. "No. When I saw that she wasn't upstairs, I thought you had taken her with you."

"I thought you were able to keep track of your kids," Hosue said as he stood up and looked over at the stroller.

Cuddy desperately looked around the room. "Oh my God."

Gabrielle stood there and shook her head as she began to laugh. "Look in the kitchen," she said as she looked up to Cuddy.

Cuddy quickly rushed into the kitchen. "I think we took that one a bit too far," Gabrielle mentioned to House. As soon as she saw her nearly run out of the room, she started to feel bad.

"Yeah," House sighed.

Gabrielle walked into the kitchen to see Cuddy cradling Elisabeth as she slowly paced back and forth. As soon as Cuddy was aware of her presence, she glared to her. "Don't you two ever do that again."

Gabrielle's head lowered. "I'm sorry. But I think you should calm down. I mean, she is fine, and you know where she is."

Cuddy sighed as she sat Elisabeth back down in her carrier. "I don't think you two understand. You scared the hell out of me. You had me thinking that Imight have actually left my baby somewhere."

"Allr giht, sit down," Gabrielle said as she pulled a chair out for her. Cuddy just ignored her. "Come on," Gabrielle pleaded. "I'm not gonna pull it out from under you or anything like that."

Cuddy reluctantly decided to go ahead and sit down. "Now what?" She was still angry at the both of them, and really didn't want to hear anythign that Gabrielle was about to tell her.

Gabrielle shrugged. "Nothing, I just wanted you to calm down."

Cuddy rolled her eyes and then briefly closed her eyes as she leaned her head back. After a moment of sitting in the silence, she sat up and turned. Gabrielle had already left the room. Staring straight forward, she nodded. Why should she have expected anything else? Standing up, she looked down over to Elisabeth. "You're going to be just as bad aren't you?"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle sat up in her room staring at her cell phone. She had just gotten done calling up her friends back in Toledo to wish them a merry Christmas, and now she had to call up Andy and Missy over in New York, and then Jake. "Hey," she said after picking up the phone and dialing. "Andy?"

"The one and only," he answered.

Gabrielle smiled. "How are thigns going between you and Missy? I haven't seen either one of you in a while."

Andy hesitated to answer as he sighed. "Actually, Missy moved out. We broke up and she ended up going down to South Carolina where her brother was able to get her a job."

"Wow," Gabrielle started. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Andy said.

"Have you heard about Bucky and Doug?"

"No. What happened?" Andy asked.

"Well, they both moved to Seattle. They decided to start a small video game shop or whatever and Doug new a few people out there that could help them get started," Gabrielle sat back and stared out the window.

"I heard Bucky talking about it the last time that I saw him, but Doug never said anything to me about it."

"Yeah, all you college kids are seperating. The only ones left of the group back there now are Marcy, Heather, Amy and Veronica. I don't think that's even going to last that long though. Marcy told me that Heather might transfer over to Georgetown University. She got the scholarship that she had been trying for. And then now Amy, she has a new boyfriend so she's spending every bit of free time with him."

"Wow," Andy laughed. "I guess Marcy and Veronica are the only ones left. They're stuck there until they graduate."

"Yeah," Gabrielle said. "I think everyone's gonna try and meet up during the summer though. like a small reunion."

"Sounds good to me. I just don't think that Missy will be there though."

"I understand that," Gabrielle said. "I don't think that Kyle will show up either."

"Yeah, well..."

"Anyways," Gabrielle said. "I might see you in about a week. We're coming up to New York for the New Years."

"Really? Nice. Once you get here, let me know where you're staying and I'll come get you."

"Sounds good to me." Gabrielle smiled. She was glad that she was finally going to get to see one of her old friends. She had gone from spending ninety nine percent of her time with them, to none at all.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle had just gotten off the phone with Jake. Slowly, she walked down the stairs. She could faintly hear House and Cuddy talking. Getting further down the stairs, she figured out that they were in the kitchen as she heard the sink. Quietly, she made her way over to the entrance to the kitchen and leaned against the doorway as she watched the two.

Cuddy, who had her back to Gabrielle, checked the water temperature before she set the baby down in the seat that was set up in the sink. "How's Elisabeth doing over there?"

House, who had the little baby bundled in a towel on his lap, looked up to Cuddy. "She won't stop staring at me."

"Really?" Gabrielle asked. "My mom said that I did the same thing when I was a baby. She must be taking after you, analyzing you."

"Sounds about right," Cuddy said.

"You mind getting her dressed?" House asked.

"Sure," Gabrielle said. She walked over and took Elisabeth. As she took her away from House, she noticed how her eyes stuck on House. "I think someone's preparing to stalk you."

"She'll definitely be able to stare people down someday," House remarked as Gabrielle carried her over to the counter where her diaper and clothes were placed.

Cuddy took Jessica out of the water and bundled her up in a towel. "Looks like mommy's little angel is clean," she said carrying her over to the counter.

"Momma!" Rachel called from over in her high chair.

Cuddy looked back and saw the little girl with her arms reaching out, signifying that she wanted to be held. House stood up and went over to Cuddy. "I'll take Jessica. You tend to Rachel before you get that guilt streak going again."

"Thank you," Cuddy said as she handed Jessica to him. She then went over and picked Rachel up out of her high chair.

House and Gabrielle stood there and continued to dress the twins. "Done. I win," Gabrielle said as she picked Jessica up and held her.

"Mine stares better," House said.

"Mine's warmer," Gabrielle said. She looked over and saw Jessica's eyes closed. "Actually, I think mine's falling asleep."

House looked over to her. "If you want to, you can take her upstairs and put her to bed."

"Okay," Gabrielle said. She walked up to the nursery and gently set the sleeping baby down in the crib. Instead of leaving, she stood there and stared down into the crib. "You know, I could be with my little brother tomorrow, on Christmas. Stay there, celebrate Christmas and then head off to Italy the very next day and stay for a few weeks." She softly laughed. "We don't even have a tree. All we're doing is exchanging a few gifts and then going on like its a normal day. Its not much, but somehow I still prefer it."

**In the last chapter I said that this one was going to be extremely long. This one isn't, obviously. I had written the entire thing and then decided to split it up into two chapters. Let me know what you think. **


	20. Merry Christmas part 3

Chapter 20: Merry Christmas (part 3)

Gabrielle lay in her bed asleep. Today was Christmas day. She was used to having her mother have the day off, but today, both House and Cuddy had to work. It didn't matter to her though, she was able to spend the day with them, whether it be at work or at home.

Her sleep was interrupted by the feeling of something rubbing over her shoulder. By reaction, she reacted up and slapped her shoulder, but stopped as she actually felt something. As soon as she grabbed onto it, she opened her eyes. With hesitense, she raised her head and looked over.

"What the hell?" She yelled as she jumped up and got up against the wall. Upon seeing House standing there with a Freddy Krueger claw on his hand, she turned her fright into a soft laughter.

"Morning," House casually greeted.

"That is freaking awesome," Gabrielle said motioning towards the claw.

"Merry Christmas," House said as he handed it to her. "I know you like that stuff, so I thought I would go with the festive one." House the grabbed a black hat and a striped red and green Christmas sweater and handed it to her.

"That is amazing," Gabrielle said looking over the gifts. "Thank you."

"Here," House said as he sat down on the bed. "I don't have much use for this anymore, but somethign tells me that you'll like it." House took a small box out of his pocket and handed it to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle gently took the box from his hand and looked it over before opening it. Honestly, she knew that it was going to be some sort of jewelry item, but she was trying to guess what it was before she opened it. "A class ring?" she asked opening the box. She took it out and examined it. "Your's?" she asked looking over to him.

"Actually, Maria and I exchanged rings while we were dating, and never got around to switching back. Look at the year on it, I'm a few years older than her." House watched her as she tried the ring on and stared at it. "For a while it was the only thing I thought that was the only thing she was going to leave me."

Gabrielle briefly laughed at the comment. "Wow," she said. It truly wasn't much, but to her, that little ring meant everything. House wasn't going to come out and say it, nor was she about to force it out of him, but this was his way of saying sorry about her mom. He had taken the time to go through and find something from Maria for her, and that, meant more than anything to her. Instead of saying thank you, she sat up, reached over and hugged him and then kissed him on the cheek.

"You're welcome," House said.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

House stood infront of his whiteboard. Thirteen and Taub sat at the table as Kutner went and grabbed a cup of coffee. It was Christmas day, but they did have work that they had to do.

"Alright," House said as he stood off to the, allowing them to see the list. "Irregular heartbeat, amnesia, blackouts and convulsions. Go!"

"We could rule out the blackouts since the irregular heartbeat would cause them." Kutner took his cup and sat down.

House leaned down on his cane and watched him for a moment. "So our patient, with amnesia, was able to tell you that the blackouts occured after the heart problems and not before?"

"No."

"Didn't think so."

Gabrielle silently slipped into the room and sat down at the table.

"Oh look," House started as he pointed his cane. "Bastard mini me. You have any new symptoms for us? Maybe a solution?"

"Watch it gimpy. I can out run you," Gabrielle said.

"I thought young girls were supposed to be made of sugar, spice, and everything nice," House remarked.

"Not when daddy's made of Vicodin, booze and sarcasm."

"Most meaningful thing you've said today," House said and then stood up and looked back to the board. "Anyone else?" He turned and looked around the room.

Gabrielle raised her hand.

"Yes?" House asked. He knew that she wouldn't be right, that this was about to be a smart ass remark. He had to hear it though.

"Maybe, they're a really good faker."

"No," House said and then looked around to his team members. "Any of you?"

Gabrielle knew that they had work to do. Quickly, without trying to get House's attention, she slipped a wrapped package from out of her purse onto the table and then got up and left the room. As soon as Gabrielle was gone, Thirteen reached over and grabbed the gift.

"Looks like someone left you a present," Taub said as he watched Thirteen examine it.

"Also looks like someone's dying," House said.

"You're not gonna open it?" Thirteen asked.

House rolled his eyes. "If I open it, will everyone get back to the patient?"

"Sure," Kutner said, agreeing for everyone.

"Fine," House said with defeat as he reached over and took the present from Thirteen. Ripping the paper off, he saw a framed picture of him and Gabrielle. It was taken at the airport while they waited for their plane to go to Hawaii. They both sat in the same position on the floor. Their backs against the wall . Right leg straight out wiht the other bent up and used as an arm rest. Each of them giving the same smirk.

Blankly staring down at the picture, he thought about how similiar they were to each other. There were so many times that he had thought she was his little clone, and then there were times where he had thought that she was the adult and he was the kid. To him, she was one of the more complicated people to understand.

"Look at that," Taub said, looking over to the photo. "A father daughter moment with House that doesn't involve medical experimentation."

"Yeah," House said and then set the picture down. "Alright, I think we had a patient that we were working on."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle walked over to Wilson's office. Without giving any warning, she walked in and sat down on the couch. "Merry Christmas!" she said.

Wilson just looked up to her. "I think you should really start knocking. You never know when I'm going to have a patient in here."

Gabrielle looked around the office. "I don't see one."

"Yeah, but... Never mind." Wilson waved his hand dismissively.

"I haven't even been here a year yet and you expect me to know the rules?" Gabrielle asked.

"That is a lot to ask," Wilson said as he went back to his paperwork.

Gabrielle turned and looked out the window. She could see House in the conference room. He was twirling his cane as he leaned against the wall. Her eyes searched what she could see of the room to try and find out what he had done with the picture she gave him. A pile of wrapping paper was thrown carelessly on the counter, which meant that he had at least opened it.

"Did you need something?" Wilson asked. He looked up to her from his papers. The silence was starting to make him wonder if something had happened.

"Over there stands my angry angel," Gabrielle said. A statement that she knew would only make sense to her. All too true to her, he was always distant from people, a misanthrope. Even with being that way though, he had saved her.

Gabrielle then turned to Wilson. A confusion came across Wilson's face that caused her to grin. "I gave him a present. A picture of me and him together. I want to see what he does with it."

"You think he's going to throw it away?" Wilson asked. He knew that House wasn't a person to be sentimental or anything, and a gift like a picture would not be soemthing that he would ask for. He also knew though, that he was a attached to Gabrielle, so that would have to make some sort of difference.

"I don't think he would do that. Where he does place it though, matters." She had planned out all of this. It was more of a little test than a Christmas present to him. "There are places where it can be seen easier, and others where it will be hid. I just want to see where he puts it, if he hides it or shows it."

"What if he puts it on his desk and faces it towards him? Away from where others would see it?" Wilson asked.

"Then, I know that he thought enough of it to want to be able to see it rather than forget about it." It was more than just the picture, it was what he had thought of her. She knew that it was silly, but it was still something that she felt she should do.

Wilson pushed a side the papers and looked to Gabrielle. "Let me get this straight, you're grading House's opinion of you?"

Gabrielle smiled to him as she nodded.

"And you wanted to accomplish this with a picture?"

Gabrielle stood up and went before Wilson's desk. "See this?" she asked holding up her hand. As soon as she saw Wilson look over, she continued. "This is my mother's class ring. Now, really, I don't like this ring. It looks bad. Really, its horrible. I mean, it does remind me of my mom, but you know." She studied the ring for a moment before sliding it off her finger and holding it. "But, my daddy thought to go and find this just for me. The fact that he went through the trouble for me, thinking that handing me something that belonged to my mother would help me, makes this ring beautiful to me."

"You think House puts that much thought into the gifts he recieves?" Wilson asked, truly curious to hear her answer.

"Nope." Gabrielle smugly smiled. "But I do think he might consider that I do have feelings." Looking down towards the ring, she held it up. "He already has surprised me," she said and then slid it back on.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cuddy walked down the hall with a file in her hand. While making her way back to her office, she passed a partially opened janitor closet. Two hands came out, one to cover her mouth and the other wrapped around her waist. Fear quickly struck her as she tried to pull away, but it was no use.

The man pulled her close to him and rested his head on her. "Hello mistress."

Her nerves were calmed at the familiar voice. The fear though, was soon replaced with annoyance as she turned to him. "Greg! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Well," he said looking to her. Eyes full of lust. "With the kids at home, its hard to find both the time and energy. I thought that maybe we could..." He didn't need to finish, his devilish smirk gave his thoughts.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I have to take care of this first. I'm not gonna let a man lose a chance at a heart transplant just because my boyfriend's a little horny."

"The meeting has already been set up right?" House asked.

"Yes, but..."

House put his hand back to her mouth. "Then everyone knows to show up and he's going to have the same exact chance. Waiting five or ten minutes on a file isn't going to hurt anything." He removed his hand to allow her to answer.

"Are you trying to tell me that you can last five minutes?" Cuddy asked. She knew that she shouldn't be giving in to this, but his ice blues were making her melt. His other hand still placed on her hip, her skin tingling at his very touch. She had never known that it was possible to want someone as much as she did right now.

"Watch me," House said.

House cupped her face in his hands and brought her closer to his. Slowly, as if teasing each other, they went in for a kiss. One long kiss turned to two to three rapid kisses. Cuddy's hands ran through House's hair and then made their way down to remove his jacket. House was fiddling with the buttons on the front of her blouse, being careful to not rip anything.

Little did Cuddy realize it, but she was forcing him back against the wall. She placed kisses along the nook of his neck as he removed her shirt and tossed to the side. As he started for her bra, he moved his head back and hit a board holding up the shelve. He quickly noticed and shoved Cuddy back while trying to move forward as the shelve swung down.

"Greg," Cuddy gasped. The shelve had hit House in the head and caused him to fall to ground. Kneeling down, she saw that he was unconscious. His head was resting against the edge of a wooden crate. Blood was starting to stain the area. "Oh shit," she said as she grabbed her blouse and hastily put it back on before dashing out.

**I hope that you liked this. Let me know what you think, reviews are always appreciated. My final update to this story before I start school tomorrow :/**


	21. Don't Leave Me

Chapter 21: Don't Leave Me

House lay lifelessly in the bed as Cuddy sat next to him. The doctor had told her everything that she needed to know. He was unconcious still, most likely a severe concussion. She didn't doubt that, his skull had been cracked open and his head had been badly hit from both sides. Right now though, all she worried about was whether or not he was going to awaken, or if he was going to slip into a coma.

Gripping his hand, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Wake up soon. I need to finish what I started," she teased.

Cuddy looked up as the door opened. Gabrielle stepped into the room and stopped. "Hi Gabi," she weakly greeted.

Gabrielle just stood there in the front by the door. Her eyes focused on House. A numbness spread through out her frozen body. Mouth slightly agape. There was no emotion to her face what so ever, just a blank stare. Her mind seemed to go blank, as if trying to block out what she saw before her. A tear suddenly fell from her eye.

"Gabi?" Cuddy asked. The young girl was starting to scare her as she stood there. Cuddy slowly got up and then cautiously walked over and grabbed Gabrielle's shoulders. "Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle's eyes shifted up to her. Cuddy badly wanted to stay with House, but she needed to get Gabrielle home. "Come on," she said and the guided her through the door.

Walking down the hallway, Cuddy kept her hand on Gabrielle's back. Still, she was not getting any response from Gabrielle, and it was making her nervous. She was starting to wonder if Gabrielle was getting ready to break down.

The silence continued through the hall, and down the elevator. They got to Cuddy's office. Cuddy stopped with Gabrielle a few feet in the room and then went to close the door. "You left your stuff in here right?" Cuddy asked as she grabbed her coat.

Gabrielle stood there right where Cuddy had left her, blankly staring towards Cuddy'd desk. Snapping out of her trance, she quickly turned her head to face Cuddy. "What did you do?"

Cuddy froze instantly at the question. "He hit his head," she carefully answered.

Gabrielle let out a small laugh. "I know that, I meant what did you do?" She turned her entire body to face her.

Cuddy sighed. Her arms fell to her sides as she wearily looked to Gabrielle. "We were in the janitor's closet. His head hit something, then the shelf came down and hit him. I was the one who pushed him against the wall." Truly, she did feel guilty for what had happened. The second that she saw him hit the ground, the sight of him unconcious.

Gabrielle just nodded and then turned to get her coat. She had no answer to that. It wasn't that she really blamed Cuddy for what had happened, she just hated that her dad was up there in a hospital bed. She hated the possibility of losing him. House was one of the first people that she had ever grown attached to in her life. She needed him.

There was no emotion to be read on Gabrielle's face. Now, Cuddy's guilt was starting to hit her even harder. "I'm sorry," Cuddy said.

"Nothing to apologize for," Gabrielle said as she walked passed her and out the door.

Cuddy looked down for a second and then followed her.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Once they both got home, Gabrielle took care of Rachel while Cuddy took the twins for the night. Although they would be in the same room for hours at a time, neither of them made the effort to talk to each other.

Cuddy wanted to ask Gabrielle how she was doing. She wanted to apologize for everything that was going on. Sometihng was holding her back. She didn't know how to though. At the moment, she felt as if Gabrielle hated her. There were no exchanged looks, no glares, Gabrielle wasn't going out of her way to ignore her, there was just a tense feeling everytime they were in the same room.

Cuddy went to lay the twins down in their cribs. Gabrielle had already gotten Rachel to sleep, so she knew that the minute she was done, it was just going to be her and Gabrielle. They were going to have to talk sooner or later.

As she started down the stairs, she could hear Gabrielle playing the piano. She stopped on the staircase and listened for a minute before deciding to go down to the living room.

Gabrielle noticed her walk into the room, but she continued to play for a couple of minutes before turning around.

"That was pretty," Cuddy said. "You're good at that." The conversation was forced.

"Thanks. Its called Aozora."

The room felt awkward. Cuddy knew that she was going to have to start if she wanted to get anywhere that night. "About your dad," she started.

"What about him?" Gabrielle asked. Her body automatically tensed up at the statement.

"I'm sorry," Cuddy said.

Gabrielle sighed as she turned back to the piano. "Why do you keep apologizing? There is nothing to apologize for."

"You mean to tell me that you're not mad at me at all?"

Gabrielle quickly turned back to her. "I know that you feel guilty, but trust me, I'm not mad at you."

"You scared?" Cuddy asked. "I am."

"Why should I be scared? He hit his head. He'll wake up sooner or later," Gabrielle said. She was doing her best to keep herself together. It wasn't so much an act that she was putting on to fool Cuddy, but more herself. Deep down she wanted to believe that everything would be okay. That tomorrow House would wake up and there would be nothing to worry about anymore.

Cuddy just sat there and watched her. She knew that there was more going on, but she didn't know how to get her to talk. "So I'm silly for being afraid?"

Gabrielle sighed. She knew what she was doing, this was the sort of game that she could be good at. "No. You're right, he could go into a coma. I might not actually see my dad for a while. I didn't get to see him for fifteen years though, I don't think a few more without him will kill me." She was now starting to realize why House liked being numb. If he felt this way everytime that something happened to Cuddy, then she could see his point. It wasn't right, but she could certainly understand it now.

"That's not true," Cuddy said.

"What are you trying to do?" Gabrielle asked as she stood up. "Is there something that you're trying to get me to say? Is this some sort of twisted game that you're playing?" Her tolerance was steadily decreasing.

"This isn't a game!" Cuddy said as she stood up. "I'm worried about you! Okay? I know that just like him, you can go off the deep end. I saw that when your mother died and during the trial. You ignored everything and kept yourself busy with setting me up with your father, helping me get rid of that creep that was after me. That was all fine until you tried to cut yourself. I don't want you holding this all in until you decide to do something drastic."

Gabrielle looked to her with disbelief. "So you think that just because my dad is in the hospital that I have to go and do something like attempt suicide?"

"The past year is all I have to go off of."

"I think that cut was a bit different. I could have gotten you and daddy arrested. Your lives ruined. This isn't a problem. There is no solution to it, it can't be fixed. No matter what I do, he's still going to do what he's going to do."

Cuddy's face softened. "That's the same thing you said when your mother was in the hospital."

Gabrielle stopped and thought for a minute. "So it is," she softly remarked. It had been getting harder and harder for her to keep everything together. That last comment, the realization, had just nearly pushed her over the edge. Crossing her arms, she went and sat down on the chair by the couch. "I'll admit, I'm attached to him."

Cuddy sighed as she sat back down on the couch. "That was never very hard to tell."

Gabrielle looked down as she tried to gather her thoughts. If there were a time that she could talk, now would be one of those times. Cuddy was someone she knew she could trust, but again, it was more herself that she was trying to put up a front for. "I have always tried to pick and choose who I get close to. You know, ignore the ones you know you'll lose and keep the ones that'll stick around." She shrugged. "I guess I've just been having a bad run."

"Besides your parents, who have you gotten attached to that has left you?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "Those were the only two that I allowed myself to actually need. The only reason my mom was one of them was because I truly believed that she was never going to leave me. We had our good times, but."

Cuddy looked to her with interest. "But what?" she asked.

"But," Gabrielle said and then looked to Cuddy. "There were a couple of occasions where she let me know what she thought of me. Where she told me how much trouble I cause for her, how much more easier her life could have been without me. The fact is though, there were times she needed me, and in return, I allowed myself to grow attached to her, to actually need her around."

"My dad however, hasn't done that yet. He hasn't told me how horrible a person I can be. There's not that tone of seriousness when we insult each other. He doesn't really think that all I am is a needy little child who sucks the life out of him."

"You're closer to House than you've been to anyone." Cuddy meant for that to be a question, but it came out as more of a statement to herself.

"Its not fair," Gabrielle said as her eyes started to water. "Eloise only wanted me around so she could get some money. All my grandparents ever did was hand us money but never actually just stopped by to visit or anything, and then my mom. My own mother only loved me part of the time." Gabrielle shook her head as she tried to wipe the tears away. "Now I have a dad who actually does love me and he might not be able to wake up. How the hell does that happen?"

Cuddy's heart dropped as she sympathetically watched Gabrielle. "Gabi," she said as she went over and joined Gabrielle. Sitting down on the edge of the chair, she embraced Gabrielle. Cuddy really wanted to say something to help, but she didn't know anything to say. Telling her that it was going to be okay wouldn't suffice.

"Thank you," Gabrielle said as she pulled back.

"For what?" Cuddy asked with confusion. She hadn't thought that she had done much.

"Not leaving," Gabrielle responded.


	22. Too Much

Chapter 22: Too Much

Cuddy sat by House. He still wasn't awake yet, but she was going to be patient. There was no way that he could just not wake up, and she wanted to be there when he did awaken.

Many times, he had left her alone when she needed him most. Everytime something went wrong. everytime that her world came crashing down, he was no where to be seen. She couldn't leave him though. Whether or not anyone would ever hold her to it, she was responsible for what had happened. It wasn't just out of guilt, she truly did want to be there, be the first person that he saw when he opened his eyes.

Instinctively, she reached over and grabbed his hand. She didn't think that he would really notice, or even need her there right now. Its not like he would notice. She had to be there though.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle sat at her father's desk. Alone in the darkened room was where she had preferred it. A part of her wanted to go and see how House was doing. She did want to be there. It was just hard to see him like that. To face the thought of possibly losing him.

Every situation had played through her head. House waking up and being perfectly fine, then House waking up with something wrong. House not waking up for years. Then, the one that she tried her hardest to avoid, House never waking up.

There was a reason why she had usually expected the worst to happened, that was what had occured to her most often. It was the first thing to pop into her head. Almost like it was natural, the worst case scenerio played through her mind, and when she saw House laying there in the bed, that was exactly what had happened.

"You hear anything yet?"

Gabrielle looked up and saw Wilson walk into the room. "No," she said shaking her head. "I don't think anything has changed since yesterday," she wearily answered.

Wilson just stood there and nodded. "I think he'll be fine. I've seen him do plenty of stupid things and live through them."

Gabrielle forced a small smile for him. She knew that he was trying to help her out right now. Even though he was helping her though, there was one thing that was bothering her. "You're not mad at me for not being over there with him and Cuddy?"

Wilson didn't expect to hear the question at all, but didn't think much of it. "Should I be?" he asked.

Gabrielle shrugged and then leaned forward on the desk. "I don't know," she said, frustrated with herself. "I mean, I'm doing the same thing that my dad does. He's over there injured, Cuddy's freaking out and here I am hiding out. Away from everything."

Wilson knew what she was saying, and she was right. She was doing pretty much the same thing. The only difference was that House wasn't somewhere asking for her saying that he needed her. He also found it a lot harder to get mad at Gabrielle. He hadn't known her as long and in her own way, seemed so much more fragile than House. When it came to Cuddy and the babies, she was the stronger one, she was the one that would get House through, but now that it was House who was up there, she seemed distant. Even now, just talking to her, he could tell just how easily she could lose it if something went wrong.

"Look," Wilson said as he sat down before the desk. "House runs away from just about anything when it involves any actual emotional feelings. He is an adult who has people that he needs to take care of. You on the other hand are a kid. You're not supposed to be responsible for holding everyone together."

Gabrielle took a minute to consider what he said and then leaned forward towards him. "So just because I'm sixteen, I should stop caring about everything that happens? My dad gets hurt. Who cares? My mom is up there worrying and feeling guilty as hell. Why should it matter? Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying that you shouldn't feel bad for skipping out once. From what Cuddy tells me about you, you're the more adult one. You took care of everything when she had the twins. you were the one who made sure that she had someone. You deserve a break for once."

"I'm overreacting?" Gabrielle asked.

"You just need to put less pressure on yourself. You're a little freaked out about your dad right now. Just let yourself calm down a bit." Wilson watched her as she sat back.

"I wish I could," Gabrielle sighed. Looking down, she stared at the picture that she had given House. "Look," she said as she picked it up to show Wilson. "He put it on his desk." A small smile momentarily occupied her face as her eyes stayed glued to the picture.

Wilson gently smiled to her. "I guess he passed your test."

Gabrielle nodded. "Yep."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

_Gabrielle stood out on the side walk. She saw House standing at the top of a staircase that lead down to the subway. She started to run to him. _

_Gabrielle was five years old. She walked into the living room and saw her mother crying over a note.. "What's wrong?" she asked. Maria looked down to her and shook her head. "Nothing," she whispered. _

_Gabrielle got closer to House. He looked to her and shook his head though. _

_Gabrielle was seven years old. Sitting in the room that Eloise had given her, she started to draw a picture on some paper that she had found. "You little twit! What do you think you're doing?" Gabrielle looked up to Eloise and gulped. The paper was ripped from her hands. One of her hands was actually cut. "And make sure to not get that all over the carpet," Eloise said pointing to the blood. "The last thing I need is a sloppy little brat around here." _

_As soon as Gabrielle got within feet of House, he turned and started to walk down the stairs. _

_Gabrielle was thirteen years old. She walked into the kitchen and saw her mom sitting on the floor with a half empty bottle in her hand. "Hey mom."_

_Maria looked up to her. "You were out passed your curfew."_

_"What do you care?" Gabrielle asked. _

_Maria started to try and stand up, but instead remained on the floor. "I, I gived you a time to be home. Now I espect yous to be home by then."_

_Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "I bet you were real worried about me."_

_"I was!"_

_Gabrielle just turned and started walking towards the stairs. She didn't want to deal with her mother's drinking tonight. _

_"You ungrateful little bitch!" Maria yelled. "You ruin my life and then you go ahead and disrespect me!"_

_Gabrielle quickly wheeled around. "Maybe I could respect you if you did somehting other than just sit here and get drunk all the time! Maybe if you tried, I don't know, maybe acting like a mom? Its a radical idea here, but I think it could work if you try." _

_Maria blankly stared to her. "Just leave before you screw up my life even more," she sneered. _

_Gabrielle shrugged. "Fine," she said as she held back tears. _

_House walked down the stairs. "Wait!" Gabrielle called out as she ran towards the stairs. He didn't wait for her. She got to the top of the starway and fell to her knees. "Don't leave me..."_

"Don't!" Gabrielle shot up in bed. It was the middle of the night. As soon as she realized what she had done, she stopped and listened to make sure that she hadn't wakened the babies. No crying.

The only one that was crying was her. The tears had already started while she was asleep.

"Gabi?" Cuddy asked stepping into the room.

"Yeah?" she asked wiping the tears.

"You okay? I heard you yell something in here." Cuddy had a pretty good idea of what it was. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she was worried about House.

"I'm fine," Gabrielle lied.

"Sure?" Cuddy asked.

"Yeah."

Cuddy left the room, leaving Gabrielle back to herself. She pulled her knees up to her chest and then buried her head as she continued to cry.


	23. Need You

_And you know I'm still gonna need you around_

_ ~ House at Pooneil Corners by Jefferson Airplane _

Chapter 23: Need You

Gabrielle laid on the couch in Cuddy's office. Ice blue eyes blankly stared up to the ceiling. The last couple of days had been spent thinking. Remembering. Things that she had tried to completely block out forever were now coming back to her.

She was more or less comparing. Her life back in Ohio to here. Her friends, which she had never had any problems with anywhere. But mainly, she compared her home life, her family. Oddly enough, she more or less compared House to Eloise and Cuddy to Maria.

House and Eloise, to her, were the same type of people in her life. Not in that they treat her the same, but that they are not the main people to take care of her. They're there when the main person can't be. House was more or less someone she just looked up to. He was never going to be a conventional parent. Unlike Eloise though, he actually cared about her. They could insult each other, but not truly mean what they were saying. Even if they did at times, there was still an understanding that they weren't against each other. Eloise though, meant everything that she had said, and sometimes backed it up with actions. House spoke louder through his actions, but his actions never left her with visible scars.

Cuddy and Maria were both the main parents in her life. She had even grown to call Cuddy mom. So far, she had a better relationship with Cuddy that she had had with Maria. Sure, her and Cuddy had times where they didn't get along, but it was never anything permanent. Maria, however, had a complicated relationship with Gabrielle. There were times where they got along great. Times that they really truly loved each other, and actually acted and felt like a mother and daughter. There were other times though, the times where Maria would drink. The times that she would tell her she didn't want her, the times she told her that she was ruining her life. Through out the trial and her time with House, Gabrielle knew that Cuddy was doing more for her that Maria ever would. It was a bittersweet feeling. Sweet in the way that she had finally found people that actually cared for her, but bitter in sense that it showed her how much her own mother would have not done for her, how much her mother really didn't care at times.

Gabrielle turned on her side and checked her phone. "What?" she asked as she sat up. There was a text message. As soon as she opened her phone, she saw it was from Andy. "Let me know when you're coming," she read to herself. She had forgotten to tell him that they weren't going to be able to go out to New York anymore. Sighing, she texted him back, letting him know their trip was cancelled and told him why.

It only took a minute, but he got back to her. "I know apologizing would drive you crazy, so I'll just say that I hope he gets better soon." For what felt like several minutes, she just stared down at the message.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cuddy decided to stop in and see how House was doing. Holding on to a small amount of hope that he might be awake, she entered the room. Her hope was vanished as she saw him laying there. Guilt stirring up within her again, she walked over and looked down to him.

Ironically, he looked more peaceful, more happy now than he had been in a while. Although, she figured, most people often did when they were 'sleeping'.

Turning her head away from him, as if in shame. Not shameful of him, but in what she had done, in what she had been guilty of. Not only had she hurt the man that she loved, but along with that, emotionally damaged a young girl. She walked away.

Her heart told her to stay. She wanted to stay, but there were other things that had to be done. Sure, other people probably could have handled things around the hospital for a little while. She had tried leaving Cameron in charge for a little bit while she stayed home with Rachel. The only reason it didn't work out was because of House playing mind games with her. It was the distraction that she needed.

"How is he?" Cuddy heard Gabrielle ask upon entering her office. She walked over to her desk and sat down. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he's still stable." Her answer was absent of any emotion as she opened a file and looked it over before signing her name.

Gabrielle sat on the couch and silently watched her. She could just see that deep down she wanted to fall apart. No one ever acted that way when there was nothing wrong. She had no problem believing what she had said. That was the only honest part of her answer.

Who was she to say anything though? They were both doing the same exact thing, and for the same reasons. Fear. Fear that breaking down would make everything so much more real. Fear that they couldn't gather themselves afterwards. Fear that if they fell apart or even revealed a tiny bit of what was going on right now, that the other in the room would not be able to handle it.

They were both aware that their emotions, their reactions would somehow mirror each other. It was just common sense that if one trustworthy person in the room acts as if everything is okay, that everyone else will believe it. The same works when that person completely crumbles. Cuddy right now, was that person and she knew it. Gabrielle though would be the one to bring her feelings to surface, and she was very well aware.

No one truly had to worry yet. It had only been a couple of days. It was just frustrating.

"He's going to be okay." Gabrielle had no way of knowing whether or not this was true, but she had to say it anyways. Like when a young child scribbles on a paper and asks you if it is the best looking picture ever. There is no way that you could ever tell them that there are better out there, so you smile and agree.

Cuddy looked up to her. In this situation, Gabrielle was the little kid with the picture. "Yeah," she breathed and then looked back down to her paper.

"Are you waiting for me to leave?" Gabrielle asked. She was in no way offended, she just wanted to know if she should leave and go somewhere else for a little while.

Cuddy looked up to her. Perplexed, she closed the file and set her pen down. "Why?"

Gabrielle nonchalantly shook her head as she shrugged. "You keep yourself composed around me. Constantly watching what you say and do while carefully concealling every emotion. I was just wondering if you wanted the chance to let your guard down and not worry about me for a while."

"I'm fine," Cuddy said. "You don't have to do that." Really, Gabrielle was right. If she wasn't right there in the room, she probably would have shown a little more emotion. There were a few times that she would have cried if Gabrielle wasn't around her.

"Are you sure?" Gabrielle asked. "Admitting to me that you are getting more and more worried is not going to break me. I'm stronger than that."

"You already know that I'm worried. You know that I feel guilty. I wouldn't be admitting anything to you that you don't already know."

"Then why the act?" Gabrielle asked.

Cuddy thought for a moment, not really sure as to how to approach that question. "I don't want to make it seem worse than it is." She looked over to Gabrielle for a minute. "What about you?"

"What? An act?"

Cuddy nodded.

Gabrielle flatly stared out towards the floor as she thought and then looked up to Cuddy. "Partially for you, because I don't want you to feel bad. Then, mostly for me."

Cuddy leaned forward and rested her head on her hand. "I can tell you right now that I'm still going to feel bad no matter how you act. No matter what your reaction is, he's still laying up there because of me."

Gabrielle raised her eyebrow. "You mean to tell me that me just completely breaking down right here and right now wouldn't bother you? Crying that I need my daddy more than anything? Going on about how I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't wake up?"

"You already cried to me telling me that you need him more than anything. You told me about how no one else has ever treated you right. I felt bad, but it didn't cause any unnecessary guilt."

"Unnecessary?"

"Yes," Cuddy answered.

Gabrielle tossed the word around in her head a brief moment. "So, you did feel worse? You just thought that you deserved it?" She could tell right away, the distant look in Cuddy's eyes. Standing up, she made her way over and sat down at the the desk across from Cuddy. "Why is it that everytime something bad happens, you feel like you deserve it?"

"I'm not saying that Greg got hurt because I'm a bad person and don't deserve anything," Cuddy argued.

"I wasn't either. But you keep blaming yourself. Yes, you might have been the one to shove him into the wall. So what? Technically, that shelf should have been more sturdy. And really you two weren't supposed to be in there. You didn't sit down and plot this all out. It was an accident." Gabrielle watched her as she hoped Cuddy was listening to her. At least considering the mere idea of what she was saying.

Cuddy looked down and took a minute to compose herself. "Fine, I think I deserve to feel guilty. It was brought up before that I accidently killed a little boy. Should I not ever feel guilty about that? Then after that it takes forever for me to have a kid, and then when I have my own the one is sick. Doesn't that sound a little odd right there? One time, I had a patient. He had been working for me for years. One day he falls off my roof and we end up taking his hand off for nothing. Should I have not felt guilty about that? Now I may be the one that put your father into a coma!" She stopped and looked down.

"You accidently killed the boy, while you were trying to get rid of a bad person who wanted to end your life and possibly kill the boy himself. You try forever for a kid because you want some actual bond with someone and end up saving Rachel and take her into your home. Now, Elisabeth is lucky enough to be in a home with a mother who cares enough to be over protective. I'm not sure what happened with the patient, but I'm sure you did something for him. And my dad, he was probably acting like a horny teenage boy and you thought you would give in to him this one time." Gabrielle leaned forward and folded her arms on the desk. "You're right, you sound like a horrible person."

There was a knock at the door. Cuddy took her attention off of Gabrielle and looked over to the door. "Come in!" she called.

Wilson opened the door and stepped in with a smile on his face. Gabrielle turned and saw him, and immediately knew that it had to be something good.

"He's awake now if you two want to go see him."

Gabrielle jumped up out of her seat. "Thank you," she said and then left the room.

Cuddy stood up and watched her. "Anything I should know before going up there? I mean, will he know who we are?" she asked as she looked over to Wilson.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. He's a little out of it. No memory loss though. He does of course have a concussion."

Cuddy smiled. "Thank you," she said and then left.

Wilson stood there and sighed as he watched her leave. He knew that both her and Gabrielle were having a rough time. He was just glad that it was over now. They could relax a little with knowing that he was going to be all right.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cuddy stepped off the elevator and started towards House's room. She was truly excited to see him. The first thing she needed to do though was apologize and find out a way to make it up to him. After that, then she could just visit with him.

"Greg?" she softly asked as she cracked the door open.

"Come in."

Cuddy opened the door and stepped inside. "Greg," she said as she rolled her eyes. The first thing she saw was House all the way over to one side while Gabrielle lay sleeping on the other side. Her head resting on his shoulder.

Cuddy knew that he shouldn't have let her do that, but at the same time, the scene did look sweet to her. She knew that Gabrielle had missed him the last couple of days.

"Kid looked tired. I think she ran all the way up the stairs, she had to use her inhaler as soon as she got in here." He looked down at Gabrielle as she slept. "She's not in the way of any IVs or anything important."

Cuddy walked over and sat down in the chair next to his bed. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been knocked out. Oh, wait, I was." He looked over to Cuddy. "I think that right there might explain a lot."

Cuddy just sighed. Her hand covered his as she stared to him. Eyes full of guilt. "You remember how it happened?" She had truly hoped that he didn't. Either way she had to tell him, but she just didn't want him to be making the snyde remarks right off the bat. She didn't need them right now.

House sighed as he thought back. "I remember something about scaring the janitor when he went to grab something out of the closet. I was in there looking for something and he didn't expect to find me in there."

Cuddy slightly laughed. "You were in there waiting for me to walk passed you. When you hit your head, we were about to do one of your favorite activities."

House just looked over to her for a moment. "You were seriously about to do it with me in the closet? At work?" He couldn't see her going that far, but he did like the idea. As of right now, he was trying to figure out another place to try the same thing.

Cuddy could see him smirking, but chose to ignore it for now and move onto what she needed ot say. "I had you up against the wall, and I accidently pushed you into the shelf which came down and you fell and hit your head on a box and then the shelf hit you pretty good." She stopped and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"If I forgive you, will you give it another try?" House asked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. She was truly sorry. Sitting here, she was trying her hardest to apologize and here he was going on about the sex. "Yes," she said, exasperated. It was a losing battle with him. It was better to just be happy about the fact that he's not upset and let it be.


	24. Hiding

Chapter 24: Hiding

Cuddy sat in the rocking chair with Elisabeth as Gabrielle slowly walked back and forth with Jessica. They were trying to get the babies to sleep.

"Someone's a little picky, isn't she?" Gabrielle asked looking down at Jessica. Most of the time, Jessica had to be held in a certain way or walked around to get to sleep. Just little things she had to be made perfect.

By now, the twins were four months old. Each one was starting to show their own personalities and physical traits.

Jessica had the lighter hair and blue eyes. It was very easy to get her to laugh. Even though she was easily entertained, there were things that she had to have just so. When being put to sleep, she had to be slowly walked around. She got upset if you tried to get her to wear anything with buttons, that was something she would not put up with.

Elisabeth had darker hair and her eyes had more of a grayish tint to them. She seemed to be watchful of everything, especially when House held her. She would often stare up at the person who was holding her, but when House held her, her eyes locked onto his face. Her expression was often more on the serious side. Anything that was within reach, she would have to grab and play with.

"I think Ellie's asleep over here if you want me to take over," Cuddy said as she softly smiled down to her. Her finger gently stroked over Elisabeth's chubby little cheek.

"I can handle her," Gabrielle said, careful to keep quiet. The last thing they needed was for Elisabeth to wake up crying. Once one was crying, it caused a disastrous chain reaction.

Cuddy stood up and winced. Gabrielle noticed, but knew what was going on and decided to just not say anything until she got Jessica to sleep.

"Night sweetie," Cuddy said as she placed the little baby down in the crib.

Gabrielle stayed there and continued walking Jessica as Cuddy left the room. "Come on Jess, I think its time you got to sleep," she gently whispered.

Cuddy walked down the hall to the bathroom and grabbed a few aspirins. She knew that she was about to have a flare up and thought that she would take control of the fever before it spiked up like it usually did.

After swallowing the pills, she walked back down the hall towards her bedroom. She stopped passed the nursery though, as she heard Gabrielle talking to Jessica.

"Don't you dare start fussing. You have nothing to cry about yet, you wake up and everyone does everything for you," she heard Gabrielle say.

Not wanting to interrupt, Cuddy stood against the wall next to the door frame. Stifling a laugh, she covered her mouth with her hand.

"No, really," Gabrielle started. "You don't have anything to cry about. Trust me, I would know."

That was when Cuddy's smile faded. Slowly, she looked towards the doorway. It wasn't that she had heard something new, it was just different.

Gabrielle paused and looked down at Jessica, who was started to close her eyes. "Although, you are stuck with me and daddy. I guess that might be a reason to cry."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. The pain was finally starting to get to her at this point. Turning away she decided to go and find House's vicodin stash to relieve her pain.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle walked over to Cuddy and House's bedroom and poked her head in to see whether or not Cuddy had fallen asleep.

"Gabi?" Cuddy's voice called.

Gabrielle stepped into the darkened room. Cuddy sat against the headboard with her knees pulled up to her chest. The glossed over eyes and distant stare told Gabrielle that the vicodin was just starting to take affect.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," Gabrielle said, keeping her spot by the door.

Cuddy looked down and nodded. "I'm fine. Thanks."

There was an awkwardness in the room. Since their talk earlier, the two had been somewhat distant with each other. At the hospital, they acted numb when they had to be around each other.

One could only go so far though when reading through someone else's personal feelings. Gabrielle had went through something personal and wouldn't leave it alone. She played with an emotion that should never be played with, guilt. It wasn't that she had been trying to make Cuddy feel guilty, it was obviously the opposite of what she had wished to accomplish. She wanted to show her how ridiculous her guilt was. That there was more to everything that happened than the world wanting to punish her for a few mistakes, but the only problem was that instead she had stirred up all those feelings at once and was now feeling bad herself.

"Good night," Gabrielle said.

Cuddy looked up to her. "Wait."

Gabrielle, who was just about to leave, stopped. "Yeah?" She hesitated before slightly turning to see her.

Cuddy crossed her legs on the bed and leaned forward. It took her a moment to gather what she wanted to say. "You don't think there's anything wrong with the way things have worked out?"

Gabrielle completely turned to face Cuddy and leaned back against the wall. This truly was the last thing that she wanted to talk about, but she wasn't about to let Cuddy go on blaming herself for everything. "Honestly?" Cuddy nodded. "No." Casually, she shrugged crossing her arms. "I meant everything that I said earlier. It was just bad accidents. Trust me, the universe doesn't have time to just focus on you."

"Thank you," Cuddy replied. She looked over towards Rachel who was a sleep in her crib.

Gabrielle stood there, trying to peruse her. It was hard to tell whether or not she had even considered what she had told her.

"I think I'm going to go on and go to bed," Gabrielle informed her. Mainly, she just wanted an excuse to get out of the room. The last thing she needed was a painkiller induced conversation about how each of them had felt over the last few days.

Silence overcame the room. Gabrielle stood there for a minute, waiting. No response. She was anticipating something, something bad. Nothing huge, she wasn't waiting for anyone to end up in the hospital along with her father. She was waiting for more of a fight between her and Cuddy. There was no response though, that was, until she turned to leave.

"You don't have to feel guilty either," Cuddy's voice rang out.

Gabrielle simply froze a moment before slowly turning back. "What do you mean?"

Cuddy looked up to her with glossed over, emotionless eyes. "Wilson," she started. For some reason, a wave of anxiety hit her. Suddenly, she was nervous, as if Gabrielle were a threat to her. "From what I hear, it sounds like you wanted someone to get mad at you."

That was what she was expecting to hear her say. Ever since she heard Wilson that had been what she was waiting for. "No," she responded folding her arms across her chest once again.

"Then why were you mad?" Cuddy questioned.

It was becoming apparent that she was trying to do with Gabrielle, what House could do with her. He could always read her, understand her. Cuddy was now trying to do the same thing. It had worked out okay before, but she had never had anything like what House had.

There was no desire in invading the privacy of anyone. Cuddy was just worried about Gabrielle. The sight of House pulling Gabrielle's wrist over the table and telling her that she had to be watched kept playing through her mind. She could see it then and she can still see it now. Both Gabrielle and House kept everything buried deep inside until they were forced to do something drastic with all the pent up energy.

Gabrielle shrugged as she looked off to the side, towards the slightly open door. "I don't know," she answered glancing back to Cuddy. "I just don't like having people coddle me. I did the same thing that House pulls all the time. If that is something that he typically gets yelled at for, I think I should get yelled at too. I'm tired of people thinking that I'm so freaking fragile. That I need to be protected all the time and that anything that goes wrong is going to permanently damage me. I hate getting pity and sympathy. I'm a hell of a lot stronger than that, and its about time that people recognized that."

Cuddy did believe that she was telling the truth. There was never a time that she had seen Gabrielle seeking any attention from pity, nor could she ever see her doing that. There had to be more though. Gabrielle was not a simple person.

"If he had yelled at you, would you have gone to see House then?" Cuddy knew that she was hitting a risky area, but she had to ask. For some reason, it seemed to her that they would never get anywhere with talking about Gabrielle unless she asked questions like that.

Gabrielle stood there and sighed as her mind racked over what she should say. "No." There was no other way to go than to just be honest.

"Did you need someone to get at mad you? Were you mad at yourself for not being able to go?" Cuddy asked her feeling more secure to continue her questioning.

Gabrielle locked her cold eyes on Cuddy's. She had hit a sore spot, a spot that she didn't touched ever again, especially now. "No." Just a one word answer, no reason to explain anything. All she needed to know was if she felt guilty. Gabrielle did, she was mad at herself. The entire time that Wilson was there, she had been wishing that he would yell and scream at her, belittle her the way that she felt she deserved to be. That was something that she planned to keep to herself though.

Cuddy lifelessly nodded as she leaned back against the headboard. "Why should I have expected anything else?"

"What do you mean?" she questioned her in response.

Cuddy let out a small laugh of irony. "You sit there today and pull apart my emotions, dissecting them right infront of me, figuring out why I feel what I feel. I ask you a few questions and you close up like no one has any right to know anything about you." Cuddy paused for a moment. "You have this ability to take people and figure them out. Find their weaknesses and fears and make them extremely vulnerable. You can't do that and then expect no one to get mad while you stand there locked up, seeming superior to them.

"I never meant to hurt you," Gabrielle told her.

"There you go again. I never said you hurt me. Instead of saying anything useful about yourself, you're going to try and sort through my feelings again," replied Cuddy.

Gabrielle was close to tears, but she didn't want to reveal that. "What do you want?" she asked tryign to hide her shakiness. "You don't seem to realize that even though I trust you, that this stuff is just harder for some people than it is for others!I happen to be one of those others. The fact that you know more about me than most people should be good enough. You know what you need to know about me. Everything else you can pick up along the way if you need to know that badly."

Cuddy watched her. She hadn't realized that in the process of trying to protect Gabrielle, she was slowly starting to break her. The hesitent girl stood there, trying to secretly gather herself before she fell apart. "I'm sorry."

"All right," Gabrielle cut her off before quickly making her exit.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle sat in the room next to House. "I think there is something that you should know," Gabrielle said.

House looked over to her. "Yeah? What's that? Got a boyfriend living up in your room or something?"

"You're kid freaked me out this morning," she told him.

"What? Did you look in the mirror?" House asked.

Gabrielle quickly flashed the finger. "Ellie had a stare down with me this morning. She's trying to pierce through me with her eyes."

"She's been doing that a lot," House replied going back to stare forward. "How's the rest of them?"

"Well, Rachel actually wanted you this morning. She was a little mad, I guess she just noticed that you were gone," Gabrielle informed him with a slight smirk. "Then Jessie, well, she's just being Jessie. She laughed this morning when I tripped and fell in the kitchen."

Gabrielle looked down to House. She had never head him ask about his family before. It brought a smile to her face. He cared.

"What?" he questioned upon seeing her happily watch him.

"Nothing," Gabrielle quickly changed the subject.

The door opened and Cuddy walked through. House turned and looked to Gabrielle. "You'd better leave. My call girl's here."

"I'd say your call girl has grown pretty attached to you there," Gabrielle countered after Cuddy walked over and kissed House on the cheek, ignoring the former comment.

"Feeling better?" she asked caringly.

"If I say no, would you do anything to help?" House asked.

Cuddy smirked as she leaned in and kissed him. "Maybe," she whispered.

"Oh God," Gabrielle remarked as she rolled her eyes.

House slowly turned from Cuddy to Gabrielle. "There was a time where your life was devoted to getting us together."

Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "Now that you two are my parents, its just gross."

The fact that House and Cuddy were getting along was actually a comfort to her. This was a sign that things were going good again. No one was sick at the moment, her father was awake. The only problem was that deep down, something told her it wouldn't last. This wasn't the group of people to be with when you needed everythign to work out well.

"I think I'm gonna leave you two alone to catch up with each other," Gabrielle told them as she stood up and started for the door. "Let me know when I can come back."

"All right," Cuddy called after her as she watched Gabrielle walk out the door.

Gabrielle stood outside the room for a moment after closing the door behind her. Briefly, she looked back. Cuddy was right, she did feel guilty about not being there. She did want someone to be mad at her for it instead of everyone telling her that it was okay.

There was nothing she could do about it now though. Without waiting another moment, she walked down the hall to the elevator.

**First off, I would like to thank Haku2009 for editing this for me. **

**Second, I did this drawing that I'm really proud of. You can check it out if you're interested. Of course, it's of House and Cuddy. You'll have to copy and paste and take out the spaces. **

http: / / rosebud1427 . deviantart .com/gallery/#/d48kqhr


	25. Let's Be Honest part 1

Chapter 25: Let's Be Honest (Part 1)

Cuddy sat in the chair next to House's bed. The room had been quiet. Neither of them seemed to care though, just as long as they had each other's company.

"I think I know what I want to do when I get back home," House casually stated. It was a simple attempt at a normal conversation with her.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. It wasn't that hard to figure out what he was about to tell her. "What's that?" she asked, simply just to keep him talking. His voice was something that she missed hearing every night before she went to sleep. Now, whenever she had the opportunity to hear it, she was going to take advantage of it.

"Move Rachel into the nursery. The twins are sleeping through the night now. I think we need our room back already," he informed her.

"I think I can handle that," Cuddy replied. She had been a little surprised by his answer. It hinted at the fact that he was horny, but that was it. "Anything else?" She thought for sure that there had to be more.

House looked to her with a certain fear in his eyes. A concern shown in him, that she hadn't quite seen in him before. "I'm just wondering, what was Gabi so worried about? Everytime she came in here, she acted like I had been getting ready to die."

The voice and face didn't match up. Laced with a tone of nonchalance, the almost snarky comment came out the opposite of what he looked. His eyes were full of concern and anxiousness. The impatience growing in the brief seconds that it took her to think before answering.

"She was just worried about you. You were in a small coma," Cuddy replied.

That was not what he wanted to hear. She was covering up for Gabrielle. She was holding back, which meant that Gabrielle was more than a little worried.

The idea of his daughter losing sleep over him deeply bothered him. He figured that she was there so that she could have a decent life. Not so that she could spend her time worrying about him.

What was more troubling, was that he knew how far worrying could go with Gabrielle. He was there with her and Eloise. He saw her pass out in the court room and attempt to slit her wrists.

"What did you tell her that got her so nervous?" House questioned.

Cuddy was slightly offended by the question. "I didn't tell her anything that she couldn't figure out by just walking in here."

"You sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure that I've heard you over dramatize events to get her to talk to you," House inquired.

Cuddy stood up, her face growing more and mroe red by the moment. "Listen Greg, I didn't lie to her. Everything she heard was true. I can promise you that. Whether or not you want to believe it though is up to you," she sternly stated.

After a moment of silence, Cuddy turned and started towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said without turning back to him.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle and Cuddy were alone for the last night. House was going to be coming home the next day and both of them were excited. Gabrielle had just missed her father and didn't like the idea of not having him around the house. Cuddy was just wanting things to get back to the way that they were.

"What do you think?" Gabrielle asked. She lay on her bed as she talked to Marcy on the phone. "Seriously, Marcy, think about it." Gabrielle rolled her eyes as she listened to her friend's response.

Cuddy was on her way from her room down to the kitchen. It was time to feed Rachel, and right after Rachel was fed, Cuddy needed Gabrielle to watch her while she took care of the twins. Before taking Rachel down though, she stopped at Gabrielle's room and stood in the doorway.

"Well, I don't think you realize that we could only be friends. You were there the first time around. All we did was fight," Gabrielle explained. Sensing there was someone in the room with her, she lifted her head and saw Cuddy. Smiling, she held up her hand, motioning that she would only be a minute.

Cuddy simply nodded and headed downstairs. Something had occured to her, something that she would have thought she would have noticed a lot earlier. Gabrielle sounded grown up, even when she was talking about teenage things.

Gabrielle finished her conversation with Marcy and hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Sorry about that," she said walking over to the high chair, where Cuddy was just finishing up with Rachel.

"That's all right," Cuddy replied. She lifted the baby out of her chair and handed her over to Gabrielle. "What were you talking about up there?"

Gabrielle shifted Rachel onto her hip. "Just stuff. Missy broke up with Andy and Marcy was telling me that Andy misses me a lot. She says that we should start dating again." Gabrielle started out of the room with Cuddy following her. She put Rachel down in her play pen and started towards the stairs. "I like him and all, but I just don't think I can chance the friendship we have again. We were lucky to remain friends after the first break up."

"Doesn't he live in Toledo anyways?" Cuddy questioned.

"No, he lives up in New York," Gabrielle answered.

They both entered the Nursery and grabbed a baby and then headed back down to the kitchen. Once Gabrielle had Jessica settled in her high chair, she went out into the living room to play with Rachel.

"Hey there baby girl!" Gabrielle exclaimed as she picked the little up and set her on the floor before her.

Rachel sat down and laughed at Gabrielle. "Gaba!" the little girl called out with joy.

Gabrielle laughed. "Green Acres is the place to be," she started to sing.

Rachel smiled as she sat there and listened.

"You still like that huh?" Gabrielle asked. She then picked her up and carried her towards the stairs. "You think you could give me an opinion on something? You seem like the most fashionable in this house and I need something to wear this weekend." She didn't really have anything planned for the weekend, she just thought it was cute how Rachel would actually grab at the clothes she liked. It would usually end with Gabrielle having Rachel pick a ribbon or bow to put in her hair.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cuddy stood in the kitchen with Jessica and Elisabeth. The conversation that she had earlier over heard, got her thinking about her relationship with House. They fought a lot, but there was something that was just barely holding them together.

There were times, especially when Elisabeth was in the hospital, where she wondered if her and House would last. The pattern seemed to be continual, something would go wrong, House would hide and Gabrielle would stay with her to cover for him. She would be mad at him, and she would wish that he could be there, but she always forgave him. There was always another chance.

She loved him. There was no doubting that. Everytime something happened, she wanted him. Anytime she had something good or exciting to share, she wanted him. It was just hard to tell at times whether or not he felt the same way about her. She believed that he did, he was just afraid to feel pain. It was just hard for her to understand, not that he didn't want to feel pain, just his thought process behind it. When things go wrong, she couldn't handle being away, not knowing right away. She had to be there.

"You two almost done?" Cuddy noticed that the food was almost gone.

The two little babies before her, her little angels, were there because of House. It was funny how things had worked out between the two. Gabrielle was there because of her, Rachel was there because of something that he had once said. Now, Elisabeth and Jessica were there.

One thought bothered her though. Would they still be together if the kids weren't there? Or even worse, would they have ever gotten together without Gabrielle there? She was the one who had gotten them together on a date.

"Someone's a little beauty queen."

Cuddy was again, taken out of her thoughts. She looked over and saw Gabrielle standing in the doorway carrying Rachel. The toddler had her soft, brown fuzzy hair pulled into pigtails with a bright red bow tied around each one. There were red circles on her cheeks where Gabrielle had helped her use the blush.

"I see that," Cuddy responded, still somewhat distant.

Gabrielle carried Rachel over and sat down by Cuddy. "You alright there?" she questioned. "Cause, you usually tell me to stop letting her play with my make up when I do this."

Cuddy sighed. It was hard to tell a teenager that she was really thinking through her own relationship with her father. Especially when Gabrielle had just thanked her for not leaving.

She wasn't thinking about actually leaving House, that was the last thing that she wanted to do. She just didn't want her to think that.

"I'm tired," Cuddy replied as she feed the twins the last of their food.

Gabrielle sat there with Rachel as Cuddy got up and walked over to the sink. She knew that she had been hard on Cuddy, that was no secret.

While House had been in the hospital, Gabrielle had been making Cuddy as vulnerable as she could. It was in no way an attempt to be mean to her, it was just a natural reaction. She had feelings that Cuddy wanted her to share, and instead of sharing them, she moved the spotlight onto her.

Cuddy stood at the sink and rinsed the bowl. She barely even paid attention to what she was doing as she blankly stared ahead. All she was actually aware of at the moment was the warm water running over her hands.

"You think you could start getting them ready for bed?" Cuddy requested.

"Yeah," Gabrielle agreed to take over for a little while. "I'll start with getting rid of the make up on Rachel's face."

Gabrielle watched Cuddy for a moment before silently getting up and heading to the door. Stopping, for a brief second, she looked down and started to play with the ribbon in Rachel's hair. "I'm sorry," she apologized and then continued on her way.

Cuddy slowly looked up. After slight hesitation, she quickly turned towards the doorway with perplexion. It was too late though, Gabrielle was already gone.


	26. Let's Be Honest part 2

Chapter 26: Let's Be Honest (part 2)

Cuddy walked into the house with House following her. After five days in the hospital, he was glad to be home. He was never going to admit it, but he had missed everyone.

Cuddy and Gabrielle had visited him, but it wasn't the same. He needed them in his life, and laying by himself in a room had shown him that. A few years ago, being alone would have been okay, but now, he didn't think he could do it anymore.

"Hi daddy," Gabrielle called out from the stairs. She hurried down and hugged him.

House stood there with his arms to his sides, as usual. Without pulling back, Gabrielle looked up to him and then grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her. "There," she stated.

House rolled his eyes. "Hey kid. Miss me much?" he questioned.

"Not really," she answered with a smirk as she pulled back. They both new that they had missed each other, it was just that neither of them were going to admit to how much.

Cuddy placed her coat into the closet and turned back to face the father daughter reunion. "You wanna go lay down before dinner?" she asked.

"I've done nothing else for the past week. I think I need to sit up for a while before I forget how to," House answered. Removing his coat, he laid it on the railing to the staircase and continued to the living room.

Cuddy rolled her eyes as she went and grabbed his coat to put it away.

Gabrielle saw the way that Cuddy had reacted to the small misplacement. She walked over and leaned on the railing. "I could have put that away if it bothered you that much," Gabrielle said.

Cuddy, with her back still to Gabrielle grabbed an empty hanger. "It's fine," she huffed.

Gabrielle nodded her head and went into the living room to join House on the couch. She sat there silently as he watched some random sitcom. "Something happen between you and Lisa?" she questioned.

House looked down to see her blue eyes anxiously awaiting for him to speak. "We tried to get freaky in the closet if that's what you mean. Didn't work out too well though," he replied. "I still have a slight headache."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. This wasn't going to be easy. "I mean, did you say something to upset her?" she inquired.

House turned his attention back to the television. "I asked her what she said to get you so freaked out," he all too casually informed her.

In the back of his head, he knew it was the wrong thing to do. He also knew that she would never do anything like that. For some reason though, he couldn't handle just having Gabrielle scared over nothing. The idea of his daughter scared for his life every time that he gets hurt. He wanted it to be something that Cuddy told her, rather than have her scared over what was really going on.

Gabrielle sat there and blankly stared towards the television. It made more sense now. He made Cuddy feel worse than she should have, and the guilt trip was a bit much for her. "That probably wasn't the best idea. She already felt guilty over you being there. The poor lady apologized to me over and over again, telling me that it was all her fault."

House slightly turned his head to her. "Why was she apologizing to you? I was the one that got hit in the head," House responded.

He knew that she had felt bad, but he wasn't sure as to how bad she had felt. Now, he was starting to wish that he hadn't said anything at all to her.

Gabrielle knew it was because of the way that she had reacted. She didn't mean to do what she did, shutting down in his room, breaking down that night. Everything just sort of happened. She didn't want to tell House that though. She didn't want him to know how she had been a wreck that night.

"I guess she didn't want to be the one to kill off my father," Gabrielle answered.

The words struck House. The only visible sign was the slight rasing of his eyebrows. "I can see that," he simply commented and then continued to watch tv.

"Yeah," Gabrielle breathed out. Without hesitation, she got up and headed towards the kitchen. Leaning against the door frame, she watched for a moment as Cuddy started to prepare dinner.

"You need any help?" Gabrielle offered.

Cuddy, who was waiting for the pot to fill up with enough water, turned back for a second. "No," she answered, turned the faucet off. "I've got it."

Cuddy was surprised that Gabrielle wasn't out there with House. She was sure that his first night home that the two would be inseperable.

"Hmm," Gabrielle hummed. She pushed herself off the door frame and went over to the table where she took a seat. "I'm glad that daddy's back," she stated.

"So am I," Cuddy responded as she carried the the pot over to the stove and turned the burner on.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry about the way that I acted through out the week," Gabrielle said.

Cuddy turned to her and watched her for a moment. "You have no reason to apologize. You're father was in the hospital and you were worried."

Gabrielle shook her head. "No," she started. "I was an emotional wreck and then I was a brat by making you open up about everything while standing there keeping everything to myself. I probably made you feel more guilty than you should have and put more stress on you. I'm sorry. I was upset and mad at myself for being weak," Gabrielle explained.

Cuddy looked to her with sympathy and went to join her at the table. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You don't have to always be the strongest person in the room. It would be nice though if you could learn to trust your father and I enough to let your guard down instead of holding everything in though. Granted, you do open up a little more than he does, you just need to be able to not be afraid of whats going to happen if you're honest about what's going on."

"Fine," Gabrielle sighed. "You want a confession? I was mad at myself for not going to see him. I couldn't stand the thought of not being to step into that room until he woke up," Gabrielle informed her. "I think I finally understand why daddy runs away every time something bad happens."

Gabrielle sat there, her eyes down to her hands. Her fingers nervously tracing the lines on the table.

Cuddy sat there, truly interested in what the young girl was about to say. The one who was often the adult when things went wrong, the "strong" one of the group was now the most vulnerable.

"When I walked into that room and saw him lying there, I instantly thought of everything that could go wrong. I thought the worst possible thing," Gabrielle said. Her eyes shot up to meet Cuddy's. "Walking into his funeral."

"That's morbid, but its understandable," Cuddy commented.

"The fact that its understandable means nothing," Gabrielle replied. She shrugged as her eyes went back down and she started fussing with her nails. "I'm sure that when you walk into someone's hospital room, that you don't picture them laying in a casket. I'm also pretty sure that you don't feel like chest has just become an airless vacuum or that your stomach has suddenly tied itself into numerous, tangled knots. What's worse is that while you're picturing them lying there, dead, you know that there isn't anything you can do about it."

The room fell silent. Gabrielle continued to fiddle with her fingers as Cuddy took in everything that had just been said. As soon as she was sure that Cuddy had had enough time, she lifted her head up.

"I think that's why daddy has a hard time being with you when anything goes wrong," she stated. "That was the second time I have felt that way in my life, and I hope its the last, at least for a while."

Cuddy sat there. She caught onto the fact that Gabrielle had said second, but didn't want to say anything yet.

Instead, there was something else that she wanted to ask her. "What about when I was in the hospital? Everytime something went wrong with Elisabeth you were fine then," Cuddy questioned.

Gabrielle smirked, she knew that Cuddy was wondering how much more important House was to her than the others. Really, everyone was important to her. "When Elisabeth was sick, I was with _you_ not Elisabeth. I sat in the hospital room with you, not her. I knew that you would be all right. That's where daddy needs to be able to realize that he would be you, not with the one who's actually sick. That's probably why I didn't even feel bad yelling at him," Gabrielle explained.

"I see," Cuddy said. This was all interesting to her, a morbid fascination. At the moment, she was hoping that what Gabrielle was explaining was the same thing that House had felt. It wasn't that she had wished him pain, but that she wished she understood him better.

After a moment of silence, Gabrielle sighed. "Well, all I wanted to say was that I couldn't have made it through out the week without you, thank you for that, and that I'm sorry for the way that I had acted," Gabrielle stated and then stood up and hurried out of the room.

She had to leave. As soon as she had given that much away about herself, she began to feel uncomfortable.

Cuddy watched her leave and then got up to go tend to her boiling water.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

After dinner, and after the babies were all asleep, Gabrielle and House sat downstairs on the couch.

"See?" Gabrielle asked. "This is why Michael Myers is better than Jason. He doesn't have his mother going around and doing his killing for him," she informed.

"Makes someone look like a bit of a wuss," House commented.

"Exactly," Gabrielle responded.

House looked to her. "Then why are we watching this?" he asked.

Gabrielle looked to him and thought for a second. "You know? I'm not quite sure," Gabrielle answered. "Something that you would rather watch?"'

House sighed and leaned his head back. "No," he breathed out.

Gabrielle shrugged. She heard her phone go off and quickly answered it.

"Oh look, there's a super important shoe sale going on," House quipped.

Gabrielle read over the message and then looked up to House. "Actually," she started. "Do you mind if I go over to Ally's house? Apparently her parents had to go to the hospital for her aunt and she doesn't like being alone at night."

"Go for it. Just try to be back early tomorrow. That way Cuddles won't be bothered by the fact that I let you go out in the middle of the night on short notice," House said.

Gabrielle thanked him and then quickly got up and grabbed her coat, the keys and her shoes and left.

Once he knew she was gone, House turned the television off and headed upstairs. Almost the entire house was dark. The only light was on downstairs, just in case Gabrielle got home while it was still dark out.

He made it to the bedroom and stood in the door way for a second, trying to figure out whether or not Cuddy was asleep.

He went over and hooked his cane onto the end of the bed and climbed into his side. The stirring woke Cuddy.

"Greg?" she groggily called. Yawning, she sat up a little.

"Surprised to see me in our bed?" House asked.

"What time is it?" Cuddy questioned, completely ignoring his remark.

"Its around midnight," he answered.

Cuddy had something that she had to talk to him about, and since there were a few hours left in the night, she thought that she could take care of it now. "Good," she stated and then turned on a light. "I think we need to talk."

House looked over to her. "What about?" He knew that the statement, 'we need to talk' is never a good thing. Especially paired with the concerned look on her face.

Cuddy completely sat up. "Well," she started and then looked to him with sympathy. "I need to know where we're at," she answered.

House raised his eyebrow. "Lisa," he started. This was a relief to him. Anything besides we need a break, or I think we should seperate was a relief to him.

"Don't Greg!" Cuddy warned. "I'm serious. I've just been thinking. The way that you react when ever something goes wrong, the way that I saw Gabrielle when you were in the hospital," Cuddy sighed and started to play with the blanket. "Our daughter could end up in the hospital a lot. She could easily someday need a transplant. In a couple of months she need to be taken in for a lung lavage," she explained.

House sat there and listened. He knew where she was going with this. There were times where he had thought about what they were going to have to go through with Elisabeth. It scared him. It truly scared him.

Cuddy raised her head. Her eyes were searching for some form of understanding in his. "I can handle that. Can you?" she questioned.

She needed to know. It was common sense that he would run away, that he would go off and hide. It was impossible for him to completely change his ways over night. She wanted to know if he would try though. She needed to know that he could be there when she needed him.

House sat there and watched her. He knew what she wanted to hear, but at the same time, he had to be honest. He couldn't tell her that he would be there with her the entire time and then run away. She would hold him to those words. "I don't know," he blankly admitted.

Cuddy nodded. "All right," she responded and then turned over.

House could tell that she was upset with him. "I never said I wouldn't try," he offered.

Cuddy sat back up and looked over to him. "You always say you'll try. Hasn't exactly worked yet has it?" she snapped. She quickly wiped the tears that were forming.

House was taken aback by her reaction. There was nothing to say to that. "What's wrong with you?" he bluntly asked. "All the sudden you're so damn touchy."

Cuddy was a little offended by the question. "Yeah. I am," she answered. "You want to know why? I bet is has something to do with the fact that I'm always tired. We happen to have three babies around here. One of them always seems to need something. It doesn't help either that everytime I try to have one stinking cup of coffee I..." she trailed off. Her face softened as she started to figure things out in her head.

"Get sick," House finished for her. He could tell exactly where she was going. He himself thought that they had enough children in the house. That one right now, was not what they needed. He had to wait and see what her reaction was before he said anything at all.

The room fell silent as the two sat there and blankly stared. They were both careful not to react too soon before finding out how the other one felt.

"I've been so busy lately, I, I don't even remember if I'm late or if I skipped," Cuddy confessed.

"When did the coffee thing start?" he asked. He could have sworn that he had recently seen her drink coffee.

"Just a few days ago," Cuddy answered.

"You know, this is one of those radical ideas of mine, but it could just be that you're stressed and tired," House suggested. "I mean, its not like I'm a doctor or anything. Oh wait, I am. And so are you."

"I should still get a test done though," Cuddy said, starting to calm down a bit.

"Right," House agreed.

Cuddy sat back and thought for a minute. "What if I am?" she asked.

"Then you are," House plainly stated. He had something else to say, but he figured that he had better censor himself right now. The last thing he wanted was to upset her right now.

"You usually have to say than that," Cuddy said.

"You also just knocked me out. Give me about a week and I'll get back to you," House said.

House laid back and Cuddy laid her head down on his chest. "I love you," House said. He knew that she needed the reassurance right now.

Cuddy smiled. "I love you too," she responded. she had just wished that those words had fixed everything.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle got out of the car and walked into the lobby of the hotel. Seconds after she walked in, she spotted Andy sitting off to the side. "What are you doing here?" she asked upon walking over.

Andy stood up. "Well, you said you couldn't make it out to New York, so I thought I would come out here," he announced.

Gabrielle laughed as she shook her head. "It's not that I'm mad you're here, I just, I just don't understand," she said.

Andy shrugged. "Place is lonely since Missy left," he stated. "Besides, I was looking forward to seeing you and when you told me you couldn't make it, I was a little disappointed."

Gabrielle's smile faded. Marcy was right, he did have feelings for her. It wasn't all that hard to tell. Sure, she could believe that he would drive down to see her as a friend, he was that type of person. It wasthe fact that he was clean shaven, had his hair trimmed and combed, and was wearing a nice shirt. That and they were meeting in the middle of the night instead of waiting until tomorrow.

Ever since she got the message from him, she knew that it was important. She also knew that he had feelings for her.

"Look, you're just getting over someone else," Gabrielle sympathetically explained.

"What are you talking about?" Andy asked, trying to put on an act.

"Andy," Gabrielle said as she grabbed his arm. She led him over to a couch where they both sat down. "I know that you have feelings for me. No one asks someone to meet them in the middle of the night on short notice just to get together and catch up," she stated.

"Honestly, I just wanted to let you know that I was in town," Andy tried to cover for himself.

Gabrielle sighed as she stood up. "Look, I'll come back tomorrow. Okay?"

As Gabrielle got up and started to leave, Andy stood up and caught up to her. "Hold on," he demanded as he grabbed her shoulders. He pulled her in for a kiss.

Gabrielle pulled back. "I'm sorry. I can't. Not again," she said trying to hold back tears. "I just don't have those feelings for you."

Gabrielle gently pulled out of his embrace and started for the door.

"Yeah?" Andy called out. "Then why did you come here?"

Gabrielle froze at the question and then slowly turned back to him. "I don't know. I'm a sixteen year old girl. Meeting a guy in the middle of the night is exciting for me."

"I'm a nineteen year old boy and I think that most girls are hot, but that doesn't mean anything," he remarked.

Gabrielle sighed, "I'll be back tomorrow. I promise."

"All right. Good night," he said.

"Night jerk off," she said referring back to the way they used to speak with each other.

"Don't sell yourself for any more than two dollars. Anythign more is highway robbery," he retorted.

Gabrielle just shook her head as she walked out the door.


	27. What are You Worried About?

Chapter 27: What are You Worried About?

Gabrielle awoke the next morning and groggily climbed out of bed. As usual, she stood up, took a glance at herself in the mirror and then walked down the hall to the bathroom.

Upon seeing the bathroom door closed, she sighed and sat down against the wall.

"Greg?" Cuddy called out. She opened the door and rolled her eyes. "Gabi. I'm sorry Greg does the same thing when I'm getting ready in the morning. I should have known that it was you though, he usually sits right in front of the door to try and trap me in there."

Gabrielle looked up and yawned. "Yeah, he's done that to me too. Tells me he fell asleep waiting," she responded.

"Hmm," Cuddy hummed. She folded her arms and looked back down to the other end of the hallway where her's and House's bedroom was. "Can I talk to you for a second? In here?" she asked, pointing in to the bathroom.

"You forget how?" Gabrielle questioned as she stood up. "Cause I don't think I'm qualified to potty train," she remarked.

Gabrielle entered the bathroom. Her eyes widened as she looked over to the sink. She realized what was now going on. Quickly, she turned back to Cuddy who was closing the door behind her.

Cuddy just nodded. She didn't need to hear the question. It was written all over Gabrielle's face. "Could you please read it? I'm nervous, and I don't want to screw anything up," Cuddy explained as she went and sat down on the toilet.

"Yeah, sure," Gabrielle said. She turned back to face the sink and looked down at the test. "There's nothing there yet," she stated.

"I figured," Cuddy breathed out. Her arms rested on her legs as she momentarily hid her face with her hands. Lifting her worn, tired face, she looked up to Gabrielle who was now sitting up on the sink. "It's going to take as long as it possibly can," she explained.

Gabrielle studied her face and suddenly felt a strange protectiveness. The type that one would usually feel when someone close to them became vulnerable and fragile. She was breakable, and right now, she looked as if she were getting close to that breaking point.

Her eyes glanced down to the test. It was done. There was something that she wanted to do before letting her know though. "What would you say if I told you it was negative?" Gabrielle asked.

Cuddy looked up to her. "Is it?" she inquired.

Gabrielle shrugged. "I don't know yet. But what if it was?" she continued her questioning.

Cuddy sat back and sighed. "I don't know. I'd probably be relieved. A little sad, but it wouldn't last long. I figure I have enough to handle around here," Cuddy answered. She felt bad saying that, but it was true. She was tired and she was stressed. Elisabeth alone was going to give her panic attacks at times.

"All right. Now, what if I said positive?" Gabrielle questioned, getting ready to bite her tongue and allow Cuddy to say exactly what she felt. Even if she were to regret it later, she had to realize how she truly felt.

Cuddy shrugged. Her eyes began to water. "I don't know," she admitted. "I mean, it would be hard to say that I didn't want it. After all those times of miscarrying and failed attempts, I couldn't say that I just didn't want it." She stopped. The words hung on her mouth, but she couldn't say them. the mere thought of what she was about to say bothered her.

"But?" Gabrielle encouraged her to continue.

"But, after everything that happened with the twins and everything that's going on now," Cuddy started. Her eyes shot up to Gabrielle. "I don't think I could do it. I couldn't handle it again."

The tears quickly stopped. Cuddy could see it in Gabrielle's face. The way she sat there, her eyes regretfully going from the test to her. "Oh," she whispered. The pieces were all fitting together now.

Gabrielle nodded. "You know, these things aren't always one hundred percent. You haven't gone to the doctor yet. Right?" she tried to comfort Cuddy.

"Right," she quickly responded. It was hard to believe that all the signs and a pregnancy test were both wrong. It wasn't necessarily just the test though. Something just told her. She could feel it.

"Its also just one test. I mean, you could take a few more. We could even do what Murphy Brown did and set up like ten or fifteen in a row," Gabrielle suggested.

Cuddy softly laughed as she shook her head. She knew what Gabrielle was trying to do, and she did appreciate it. Taking more tests though was not going to change the out come. Once you got a positive, you knew that the odds of the next one being the same were pretty good.

The room fell silent. Nothing at this moment seemed right. It was a complicated situation with complicated consequences.

"Could you be specific?" Gabrielle requested.

"What?" Cuddy asked.

"What are you afraid of?" Gabrielle looked up and caught her eyes. "Specifically," she clarified.

"Well, the more selfish reasons would be the flare ups, the getting sick and always tired and all while trying to take care of three babies. That doesn't necessarily scare me, but I don't want to do that. The less selfish reasons would be not knowing whether or not I can pay attention to all four of them. I already spend more time making sure that Elisabeth is all right than I do with Jessica and Rachel. I don't want anyone fighting for attention, which with three that was already a lost cause," Cuddy explained. Lowering her head, she brushed her hand through her hair.

Cuddy looked up to Gabrielle. Along with the questions, she was expecting to hear something else, some words of comfort. Instead the girl let her down. "Don't tell me that even you see this as a bad thing," Cuddy desperately begged.

"I could tell you what you already know," Gabrielle suggested. "I could tell you that Dad and I will be here. I could tell you that there are other people that would be willing to help out. I could tell you that you never have to be alone. I could tell you a lot of things. I just don't have any new information for you."

"What about not keeping it?" Cuddy asked. The thought never actually crossed her mind. Sure, she didn't think she could handle another baby, but at the same time, she could never get rid of it. Never. The only reason she asked though was to see what Gabrielle would tell her.

Right now, the only people that she could really get any advice from were Gabrielle and House. House's stand on the whole thing though, was nothing new to her. If he had entered right now, she swore she could recite everything he would tell her. He would casually tell her that she should do whatever she think best. That all it was was a fetus, not a human.

Gabrielle, however, thoguht more than that. She thought that the thing House referred to as a fetus was indeed a baby. After trying so hard to get pregnant and go through complications, she had to feel the same way. There was no way that she could get so attached to a 'parasite' and cry everytime that 'tissue' died and left her.

Gabrielle was a little surprised by the question. "You know that's not up to me. But if you feel that's what you need, then do it. I think you personally will regret it. After the way you were with the twins, I don't think you could handle it," Gabrielle responded. Seeing the look on Cuddy's face, she could tell that she had been let down. "Listen, I don't have to be anywhere until two. Why don't you go ahead and go back to bed? I'll take care of everything until you feel up to it," she offered.

Cuddy nodded and quietly thanked her before leaving.

Once she got back to the bedroom, she carefully got back into bed, trying not to wake House. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep and forget about everything that was going on right now.

As she started to doze off, she felt House wrap his arm around her waist as he positioned himself closer to her. She looked down and watched as his hand grabbed hers.

Softly smiling, she turned he head and saw House slightly sit up. Gently, he planted a kiss on her lips and then laid back down.

It was a small simple little gesture, yet it meant so much to her. She knew that he knew how she felt, and this was his little way of showing her that she wasn't alone.

She turned her head back to face forward. Somehow, House had taken the current situation and turned the moment into one that she never wanted to end. For that, she was grateful.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle stood in front of the mirror as she did her make up. She was very aware that House was standing in the doorway watching her, she just didn't care.

"I'm sure the babies don't care how you look," House remarked.

Gabrielle sighed. "It's not for the babies," she stated.

"I don't like the idea of Andy coming over to help out while we're gone as it is. You over there putting on your whore eye make up disguise doesn't help. As a matter of fact, it makes things worse," House explained.

"It's just a little eyeliner and a touch of mascara dad. It's not like I'm piling it on," Gabrielle argued.

"That's a matter of opinion," House said.

"Well, since you're generally an ass hole, I guess my opinion's the only one that counts here," Gabrielle responded. She finished her make up and stood back from the mirror to examine herself.

"Until you pay bills around here, you have no opinion. Now lighten it up or I'm not leaving," House demanded.

He truly did not like this at all. Standing there, he saw Gabrielle glare to him, but she quickly went to the sink and started to remove some of the make up.

"There you go daddy," she said as she finished. "Better?"

"Yeah," House answered and then turned to leave.

"It's really cute how you're starting to become more and more like a daddy!" Gabrielle called out.

House stopped and turned back. "Is everything cute to you?" he questioned.

Gabrielle nodded her head. "Pretty much. Depends on the mood I'm in, but most of the time, yes," she answered.

"Yeah, Maria had a stage like that. Her's only lasted a week though," House stated.

"Her week, my life time, " Gabrielle replied.

"Mommy!" Rachel cried out from the nursery.

Gabrielle and House both went and stood holding onto the gate that closed off the entrance.

"What's wrong?" Gabrielle asked.

Rachel stood at the gate with her face all red from crying. "Mommy," she stated.

"I think she wants her mommy," House stated.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "You're one of those rare geniuses aren't you?" she mocked.

House handed his cane over to Gabrielle and then picked Rachel up. "Mommy's currently busy right now, how about daddy?" he asked.

The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and clung onto him.

Gabrielle smiled at the two. "You think you could do that with a fourth one?" she questioned.

House looked over to her. "I don't know," he casually answered and then started for the bedroom.

Gabrielle followed him and watched as he sat down on the bed with her.

House took Rachel and set her down before him. He was getting ready to do something that Gabrielle had never thought she would see him do, he started to play peek a boo, causing Rachel to laugh.

"Lisa see you do this?" Gabrielle asked. It seemed like a stupid question, but at the same time, she hadn't seen him like that too often.

"You think she would enjoy this game too?" he sarcastically asked.

"No, but I think she would be a little less worried if you showed her that you could handle the kids you have now," Gabrielle explained before turning and leaving.

House sat there and thought about it for a minute before going back to playing with Rachel.


	28. Consequences part 1

Chapter 28: Consequences (part 1)

Andy and Gabrielle sat on the couch together. Rachel was in her play pen while the twins were in their little swings.

After the encounter last night, things were a bit awkward between the two. There was a hesitence before doing or ssaying anything. They each knew how the other felt, and didn't want to say or do the wrong thing. It was a fragile situation.

"You think you'll be free tonight? It is New Year's Eve you know, and I though that maybe we could go out to dinner or something," Andy trailed off. He saw the sympathy in Gabrielle's eyes, only meaning that she was about to apologize and say she couldn't.

"Andy," she sighed. "Missy left you. After a long relationship, she left you. You and I used to have something and now you're trying to use it to fill the void that Missy left. I think both of us would regret it if we started something. Besides, I'm only sixteen, I couldn't possibly step up and take Missy's place," Gabrielle explained.

Andy sat back and shook his head. "Why do you think that just because I asked you to dinner that I was going to want to date you?" he questioned.

"I'm not stupid. I know you. We would get there and start talking and laughing and then one of two things would happen. You would either suggest that we get back together, or you would go back to your room feeling like crap because you wanted to ask and knew that I would turn you down," she answered.

Silence fell between the two. Gabrielle could see that she had hurt him.

"Look, I know what you want," she said, gaining his interest. "You want what we had. What we were. You want me to call you dickless wonder while you call me a bitch and to greet each other with the finger and know that the entire time that we don't mean it, that it's really just our morbid way of teasing each other. You want to be able to just exist in the same room and completely enjoy it for no reason other than the fact that we're both together," Gabrielle stated. She took a moment and examined how he was taking all of this before going on. "I just don't think we can do that anymore. Too many things have changed between us. Hell, I've changed. I still have it in me to act that way, and I still do, it's just, I can't do that while knowing that in the back of your mind you want me."

"How about a party together? Not just us alone, but with other people. And that way I can actually hang out with you, which is why I came all this way anyways," Andy suggested.

"All right," Gabrielle said in defeat. "I'll take you to a party tonight," she answered with a smile.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

House sat and waited with Cuddy in the room while she awaited her results. They were both silent. She sat there on the table blankly staring down towards the ground as he studied a couple of the charts up on the wall.

"What do you think?" Cuddy asked as she raised her head.

"I think the illustrator here needs a pair of glasses," he responded, examining a chart on the female anatomy. "He must've been a virgin if you ask me," he said and then turned to face her.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I meant, what if I am pregnant? Then what?" she questioned.

House saw the worry in her eyes. "If you are, then you are," he stated. "Knowing you, you'll eventually grow attached to it and be happy about the whole situation."

Cuddy sat there and wondered if he was really this dense about the whole thing. "I'm not asking about myself Greg. I know how I feel about it, I'm wondering about you. I want to know if you could handle it," she argued.

"Lisa, I'm not the one who has to go through everything," he explained. "As long as it's your baby though, I want it."

Cuddy smiled. That was something that she needed to hear. It was similar to the answer that she had getten when she had asked him whether or not he had wanted a boy or girl the first time that she pregnant. It was something about his straight forwardness with it. You knew that he meant what he said. He didn't cover anything up or go around it with sugary bull shit. He just plain out siad what he wanted to say.

To her, that meant more than some long cheesy love poem or letter.

"What do you think the answer is? Positive or negative?" House asked.

Cuddy shrugged. "I took a test this morning that came out positive," she answered. "But I don't know how reliable it really is," she said.

"And I assume Gabi knows," he mumbled as he reached for his phone.

"Yeah," Cuddy replied.

House took his phone and texted Gabrielle. "See, I think it was a false positive on the test. Something tells me that you would have noticed sooner if you were. It wouldn't have taken an argument for you to realize that you were showing some of the symptoms," he stated.

He sent the message, telling Gabrielle that he bet ten bucks that Cuddy isn't pregnant. It wasn't exactly the right thing to do, but it made things a bit more fun. Besides, he knew that Gabrielle wouldn't tell her.

Cuddy heard her phone go off in her purse and she got it.

"Who is it?" House asked, although he had a good idea of who it was.

"Gabi, she wants to know whether or not I got the results back," Cuddy answered as she replied to the text, telling her no.

House kept his phone in his hand and turned it on silent. As soon as he got a message from Gabrielle telling him that she accepted, he put it back into his pocket.

Cuddy noticed what he was doing, and figured that it wasn't a coincidence that Gabrielle had asked her right after he was playing with his phone. It didn't matter though. There was too much on her mind right now for her to care.

"So, you really think its negative?" she asked.

"Yep," House answered.

Cuddy shrugged and looked as if she were considering the possibility.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Andy stood in the living room with Jessica and Rachel as Gabrielle fed Elisabeth in the kitchen. "Gabi!" Andy nervously called out. "I think this one needs to be changed."

"Well then change her!" Gabrielle remarked.

"I'll trade you!" Andy offered.

Gabrielle stood there and sighed. "Or you could grow a pair and go ahead and do it yourself!" Gabrielle insisted.

"Please!" Andy begged.

Gabrielle looked down and smiled at Elisabeth. "Let's hope you're on my side," she whispered and then headed out to the living room.

"Fine Andy. Just a note though, when burping her afterwards, kinda bounce her a bit, helps the air bubbles. And make sure that while she's eating she gets plenty of apple juice. The last time she didn't get enough, she started having a hard time swallowing," Gabrielle explained.

"Thank you," Andy said and then went into the kitchen.

Gabrielle shook her head in disbelief and then took Jessica up stairs to change her. After she was done, she only made it halfway down the stairs before she heard Andy again.

"Gabrielle!" he called out. "The kid threw up on me!" he complained.

"That a girl," Gabrielle smirked as she set Jessica back down in the swing.

"You know," Gabrielle started as she entered the kitchen. "If you would've stuck with Jessica, you wouldn't have puke on you right now," she commented.

"Stop being a bitch and help me clean up," Andy demanded.

Gabrielle laughed. "Hand me your shirt, I'll go rinse it off and throw it in the washer," she offered.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed as he removed his shirt.

Gabrielle took it and quickly rinsed it out in the sink before taking it to the washer. "Next time, I would bring another shirt with you," Gabrielle instructed as she left the room.

Andy took a rag and cleaned off Elisabeth's face before taking her out into the living room. Gabrielle was on her way to joining him, when the door opened and House and Cuddy walked.

"Where the hell is your shirt?" House demanded as soon as he saw Andy.

"Daddy, calm down. It's in the washer," Gabrielle responded as she made ehr way to the stair case and leaned against the outside of the railing.

"And why is it there?" he asked.

"Well, sir, Elisabeth threw up on it," Andy sheepishly answered.

Cuddy suddenly grew worried. "Is she okay? She's not sick is she?" she anxiously questioned.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Don't worry," she reassured. "Why don't you just ask the dunce over here what he did right before she puked," she suggested as she motioned towards Andy.

Perplexed, he quickly looked to her. "All I did was what you told me to do!" he defended himself.

"Yeah you idiot. That was also right after you were whining about having to change a diaper. I didn't think you would actually listen to me when I told you that you should give the kid a bottle of apple juice and then bounce her around," Gabrielle stated.

Both House and Cuddy shot a questionable look over to Andy. "Haven't you ever gotten sick on a ride or trampoline after eating?" House asked.

"Yeah," Andy said and then glared over to Gabrielle.

"Hey, you listened to me," Gabrielle remarked.

"What ever," Cuddy sighed. "Thanks you two for watching them," she plainly said before going up the stairs.

Gabrielle's expression softened as she looked to House. Without any words, he quickly glance up the stairs to make sure that Cuddy couldn't see them and then handed Gabrielle ten dollars.

Gabrielle studied the money for a second before nodding. "I see," she sighed.

She shoved the money into her pocket. "How is she?" she questioned.

House sighed. "She doesn't know how to handle it yet," he answered. "But I'm taking her out to dinner at eight. You'd better keep your evening free," he said before making his way to the kitchen.

Gabrielle nodded and then looked back to Andy and quietly apologized. "Maybe after they get back," she suggested.

"Maybe," he said.

Gabrielle pushed herself off of the railing. "Excuse me, I'm going to go make sure that she's all right," Gabrielle said and then headed up the stairs.

Andy stood there and awkwardly glanced over the room. "Yep," he said realizing that he was alone with all three babies.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle got up stairs and stood out side the slightly cracked door. "Mom?" she called.

There was no answer. Instead of turning and leaving though, she gently pushed open the door and stood there a moment.

Before her sat Cuddy, on the edge of the bed. Emotionlessly staring down towards the ground. Her mind was obviously in another place. "Hey," Cuddy wearily greeted without looking up.

"I just wanted to know if you were okay," Gabrielle explained.

"I'm fine," Cuddy lifelessly answered.

"I see that," Gabrielle responded as she folded her arms.

Cuddy looked up to her. "Greg said that as long as it's mine, he wants it," Cuddy stated.

Gabrielle scrunched her brow in confusion. "I actually think that's a sweet thing for him to have said," she replied as she went and sat down next to Cuddy.

Cuddy sighed as she looked back to the ground. " You can think positively about this, Greg can think positively about this," she explained. She turned her head slightly to look to Gabrielle. "I can't," she said near tears.

Gabrielle looked to her with pity. There was nothing she could say that. Nothing she could do.

Cuddy shook her head in defeat. "I feel like the worst person right now," she stated.

"You're not though," Gabrielle argued. "I mean, I ought to know. I've been with some pretty bad caretakers out there," she explained.

Cuddy was about to say something, but she thought back to Eloise and just decided to agree with her. "Yeah, well, I never wanted to know what it felt like to be one of them," she said.

"You're just scared," Gabrielle insisted.

"And how long can I use that excuse?" Cuddy questioned.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "I don't think you'll have to use it long," she answered.

"Right," Cuddy stated.

Gabrielle turned and hugged her. "If it means anything to you, you're the best mommy that I've ever had. I don't mean to disrespect my mom, but you've done a lot more for me than she ever would have," Gabrielle admitted.

"Thanks," Cuddy said, slightly smiling.

Gabrielle pulled back. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back down stairs before my dimwit of a friend breaks one of your kids," she said.

"All right," Cuddy responded.

"Oh yeah," Gabrielle stated as she stood up. "Dad's going to suprise you by taking you out to dinner tonight, so if I were you, I would get ready around six thirty," she advised.

"Thanks for the head sup," Cuddy replied.

"Yep," Gabrielle said and then left the room.

Cuddy just sat there and sighed. "I hope this does work out," she whispered to herself.


	29. Consequences part 2

Chapter 29: Consequences (part 2)

House and Cuddy sat in the front of the restaurant as they waited to be seated. Before they left they each knew that they would have to wait a while, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that for a little bit, a few hours, they were distracted from the problems that they currently faced.

With the room filled with people talking about miniscule things such as how they looked, what party to go to, it was hard to think about the things that really were important. Well, it was for a little bit. Cuddy though had begun to block them out, all she could hear was the voices all joined together to create an incoherent mumble. Blankly staring forward, she began to evaluate herself.

It was hard to forget about everything back home, especially when you knew you had to return to it soon. A little less than a year ago, she had everything planned out. Ahead of her, she had the perfect life. By now, she had planned to be married and have three healthy kids. What did she have now? A man who got too scared to marry her, three healthy kids, one sick kid and one on the way. Her and House fought every time that Elisabeth got sick, and they were now both stressed out.

Every expectation that she had, had been crumbled before her eyes. House not marrying her wasn't so bad. That she could live with, it was when she heard that Elisabeth was sick. The moment that she found out, she felt her heart being strangled. Everything that she had worked for, and everything that she had gotten was all thrown out the window with that one announcement. She loved Elisabeth, she truly did, it was just hard for her to sit there and see her baby girl sick. It was as if she had been slapped in the face, life showing her that she could never truly get what she wanted.

It was getting to the point where she wanted to give up. Rachel and Jessica were healthy, and she was grateful for that, but four babies with one sick wasn't going to be easy. Sure, Gabrielle could help, that's all fine and well until she decides to move out and start her own life. And what if this baby was sick?

Cuddy's hand protectively moved over her abdomen. That was the one thing she hadn't thought about yet. What if that baby was going to be like Elisabeth? What if they would have to spend half their time in the hospital?

House looked over to check on Cuddy. He could tell what she was thinking about, but he didn't want to talk about it. Not now, not while they were out. Maybe tomorrow. He had to get her mind onto something else. "So, what did you wanna do after this?" he questioned.

Cuddy snapped out of her thoughts and removed her hand from her abdomen, as if she were afraid that he would notice. "I don't know," she answered. "I thought we were going home after this," she admitted.

House shrugged as he leaned his head back against the wall. "I just wanted to make sure that you got to do what you wanted tonight. It might be a while before we get to go back out again," he explained. He knew that this would get her back on the topic of the baby, but, it didn't matter. With the way things were going, it would probably come up no matter what was said or done.

"Yeah," Cuddy breathed out. Her eyes drifted to the floor.

House sighed and slightly rolled his eyes. Cuddy wasn't going to be getting better anytime soon. He would just have to sit there and watch her as she thought about every little that could go wrong. There were little things he could do to temporarily help her, but nothing would last long term until that baby was born.

Badly, he wanted to be able to tell her that everything was going to be okay. That would be lying though. He had no clue as to whether or not they could handle this, if this baby was going to be healthy. These were things that they would have to wait to find out.

House put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. This action took Cuddy by surprise at first. Staring up to him with confusion, she just saw him slightly smirk, his attempt to smile. In response, she laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around him.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

It was around ten thirty as Gabrielle stood in front of the mirror. She was getting ready to go out and meet up with Andy as soon as House and Cuddy got back home.

Tonight was going to be an awkward night, she knew that was the only way that it could be. Andy still had feelings for her, and she was going to meet with him, alone. Was it risky? Yes. Was it a stupid idea? Yes. Did she need him though? Yes.

Her parents were both a bit stressed. House didn't show it like Cuddy did, but she could tell. It was the little things that were starting to get to her, the way that House was a bit more irritable, not much more, but enough for her to notice. The way that Cuddy had grown a bit distant.

She had been through this before, but that didn't mean that she liked it. She was irritated and having to hold everything back to keep those two from falling apart, and she hated it. She could talk to Cori and Ally, but Andy knew her better than most people. He and Marcy were the ones who knew the best, and right now, she didn't have Marcy with her.

"I guess now all I have left to do is wait," she said to herself. The reflection looking back at her showed how perfect she looked on the outside. Her hair was neatly done, her make up perfect with a flattering outfit. On the inside though, she was nervous. Her heart was racing, she had used her inhaler already. This was a night where everything could turn out good, or everything could go horribly wrong. There was no in between.

She grabbed her purse and headed down to the living room. All she could do was hope that House and Cuddy would be back soon and that everything would go all right tonight.

It was right after she sat down on the couch that House walked in with his arm around Cuddy. She turned around to see how they were doing, but didn't see much. The two parted and took their coats off. Not a single word was spoken between them as House took their coats and hung them up while Cuddy headed up stairs.

Gabrielle carefully stood up and walked over to House. "What happened?" she asked.

House let out an exasperated sigh. "She enjoyed herself through dinner. On our way home we got in an argument," he answered.

"About what?" Gabrielle questioned.

House shrugged. "Don't you think I would have stuck that in there if I knew?" he asked before heading towards the living room.

Gabrielle stood there and watched him walk away. She wanted to ask more questions, but she knew that he was already irritated. Besides, he truly did seem to know nothing about what had happened.

Really, she wanted to ignore the two and go off to see Andy, but she couldn't. Instead she went up to see how Cuddy was doing.

She made her way to the top of the stairs and quickly examined her surroundings before heading down the hall to her parent's bedroom. The door was wide open, so she just went ahead and walked in.

Gabrielle stopped right inside the doorway and saw Cuddy standing in front of the mirror with her pajamas on as she brushed her hair. "What?" she asked without taking her eyes off her own reflection.

Gabrielle could hear it in her voice, she had been crying. Was this really what she needed to be doing tonight? Did she really have to find out what was going on between those two? "Never mind," she responded, convincing herself that sometimes, somethings were better kept secret.

"No twenty questions tonight?" Cuddy sharply asked.

"No," Gabrielle said as she shook her head. She turned and left the room.

Cuddy sighed. Briefly closing her eyes, she lowered her head and wondered why she did that. She had just sent away someone willing to talk to her. Lifting her head back up, she opened her eyes and looked over towards the doorway. It didn't matter, she had nothing to say. There was nothing that either House or Gabrielle didn't already know. She had already pushed House away, why not everyone else?

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Andy sat in his hotel room as he checked the time. It was almost eleven forty five. He sighed as he plopped down on the bed. He was pretty sure that she had stood him up.

He jumped up as soon as he heard a knock at the door. It had to be her, he thought. He was excited to learn that he was correct. "Hey Gabi," he greeted upon opening the door.

"Hey," she responded as she walked passed him over to the bed.

Andy stood back and watched as she set her purse down and grabbed a glass of champagne that he had sitting out to wait until midnight. The young girl took a sip and then set the glass down before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Why did you want me here?" she asked.

Andy shut the door and shrugged as he went to join her. "I wanted to see you," he replied. "I thought it would be nice to meet up with each other, alone. The way we used to," he confessed as he set beside her.

Gabrielle turned to him. There was no emotion within the ice blue eyes that stared into his. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to just blurt everything out to him. There was nothing though, no sound. Instead, she leaned in and kissed him. Andy accepted the kiss and wrapped his arms around her and embraced her.

Gabrielle wrapped her arms around him and held on. As they kissed, she closed her eyes to try and prevent the tears that were threatening to fall. The unshed tears of the thigns that she had kept bottled up for a while. Both parents were stressed, Cuddy was distant, there was going to be another baby to add more stress in the house, it had been a year since her mother had died and to celebrate that her father was in the hospital in a coma. Everything that had just been building up was slowly, but surely coming out.

Andy pulled back as soon as he felt Gabrielle begin to cry and then took her back into his embrace. There was no questioning her tears, he just sat there and held her as she cried.

After a few moments passed, Gabrielle pulled back and grabbed her glass off the nightstand. "To the new year!" she announced. "I hope you're a hell of a lot better than the last," she requested before taking a gulp.

Andy sat there and watched her. He knew that she did this from time to time, but right now, she was starting to worry him. "Is there something that I should know about?" he questioned.

Gabrielle set the glass back down and shrugged. "All you need to know right now is that I need you and I am glad that you're here tonight," she stated.

The answer bothered Andy, but he didn't say anything. She was fragile right now, and he didn't need to make anything worse than it was right now. "Glad I could help you," he simply responded.

Gabrielle nodded as she grabbed his hand. She positioned herself to completely face Andy and grabbed his face with her hands and kissed him. He grabbed hold of her wrists, but didn't pull away. Instead, he just allowed her to continue to kiss him. Seductively, she sat up and knelt over him, forcing him onto his back. That was when Andy gently pushed her off of him.

"Maybe I should take you home," he suggested.

Gabrielle took a minute to gather her thoughts. "Maybe I should just go by myself," she said as she sat back. "I'm so sorry," she apologized as she hastily stood up and grabbed her purse. "I just, I don't know," she said as she left.

Andy sighed after watching her leave. "For a virgin, she sure has come close so many times," he said to himself.


	30. Battered Rose

Chapter 30: A Battered Rose

It was New Years day. Gabrielle walked down stairs to the nearly silent kitchen where House and Cuddy sat eating their breakfast. "Hey," she carefully greeted as she took a seat next to House.

"Hmm," House responded into his bowl of cereal.

"How was your night last night?" Cuddy asked as she got up to start getting breakfast ready for the babies.

"It was good," Gabrielle replied. She could feel how tense they both were. It was annoying, but bearable for the current time. All she had to do was get through breakfast and then hope that the two could work out what ever it wad that happened last night.

"Andy didn't pull anything did he?" House questioned. He knew that Gabrielle was starting to feel uncomfortable and wanted to try and lighten the mood for her. Besides, it was something to keep his attention off of Cuddy who was in no way being shy about her feelings towards him this morning.

"No," Gabrielle answered.

"Good," House said and then went back to eating.

This was starting to bug her more than she thought it would. Gabrielle had just about had it. The tension was felt through out the house that morning and it was making her feel uncomfortable. She was not in the mood for this, not after what happened last night between her and Andy, she just wasn't able to deal with their problems right now. "All right, to avoid awkwardly sitting here in a tension filled room for any longer, what the hell happened between you two last night?" Gabrielle demanded to know.

"Ask your father," Cuddy ordered as she grabbed one of the bottles to set under the warm running water.

"As soon as you tell me," House stabbed back at her. He was starting to get sick and annoyed with all of this. He still had no idea what he did wrong last night and he was still getting punished for it.

Cuddy turned the water off and quickly turned to face him. "Are you really that fucking dense?"

"Because I don't know what's going through your head right now?" House snapped. "My God you're crazy/"

"Oh, really? I'm crazy? I'm pregnant Greg! Pregnant with another baby that is going to need attention and care and patience and energy that I just don't have!" Cuddy yelled on the verge of tears. She was quickly losing her patience with everyone and everything. She had come out and admitted something though, she couldn't do it. She knew that she couldn't do it. Running around with another kid was just not going to work for her.

Everyone briefly looked towards the door as they heard the kids begin to cry. "Dammit!" Cuddy exclaimed, realizing that she was the one who had woke them.

"They wouldn't have woken up if you weren't so damn over emotional," House explained.

"How is this being over emotional?" Cuddy demanded as she turned her back to him to continue with getting their breakfast ready.

"Because I have to take care of them too! How do you think I like having try and chase Rachel around with a cane? You think that's so goddamn easy? What about when the twins walk? How the hell will I ever be able to catch up to them? What about when they want to play outside or any of that? I'll be tired enough trying to figure that one out while there's an infant in the house!" House confessed to her. He too was scared and he also didn't think that this was all going to work out. At first he was a little excited, but she ruined it for him. All the pent up anger from last night was out now. There was no reason to say anything more.

"Oh great! Another reason to feel bad about having this baby!" Cuddy nearly cried as she slammed down the final bottle.

"I'm going to go tend to the babies," Gabrielle offered. Listening to her parents fight only stressed her out. All she wanted to was get away from them at the moment. The only thing though was that she knew she would be able to hear them upstairs. The only way to get away would be to go over to either Ally or Cori's house, which she was now definitely planning on doing later on.

"No! I'll go. I need a break from getting bitched at for every single thing," House volunteered. He stood up and forcefully pushed his chair into the table before snatching the bottles off the counter for the twins and the food for Rachel.

Gabrielle flinched at the sound of the chair hitting the table. After she was sure that he was at the stairs, she looked over to Cuddy. "Why are you doing this?" she firmly implored.

"What?" Cuddy inquired.

"Pushing everyone away," Gabrielle informed her. "I don't know what my dad said to you, or did last night but from what I have seen he has been pretty patient with you. He has been trying to help you and all you have done is complain about him and yell at him. I mean, I tried to help a little last night, but you won't tell anyone anything."

"Help?" Cuddy laughed. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you! You were the one that set your dad and I up, you were the one that forced us on a date and you're the reason for this fucking mess."

"You're going to blame this on me?" Gabrielle questioned. She was a little struck by what she had just heard, but she also knew what was going on. There was no reason to be hurt by the game that Cuddy was currently playing, the same one that she had gotten so good at over the years.

"How fucking scared are you? Its almost pathetic how afraid you are. You're so desperate to feel secure about the situation you want to push everyone away and blame them in some half assed attempt to safe guard yourself from getting hurt," Gabrielle said as she stood up.

Gabrielle stood there for a minute and let the room fall silent. Cuddy was curiously staring to her, as if she were planning out how to combat anything that Gabrielle said. "You have made it so that you could come up with an excuse for everything," Gabrielle started. "Greg leaves? That's okay, he was asshole that angered me and made me feel worse about the baby. That little bitch Gabi leaves with him? That's fine, she's the one that messed up my life, definitely don't want her around to wreck it any more. Lose the baby?" Gabrielle asked.

That was the question that got to Cuddy. It was visible, the subtle change in her face, the way her eyes slightly widened, her mouth almost agape. The way her expression softened. Gabrielle was doing what House could usually do, find the one thing that could completely tear a person down. She was glad that House hadn't been stupid enough to do it himself, but she was able to do it now, she felt that she had to. There was no other way to get Cuddy to ease up on everyone else.

Before speaking again, Gabrielle wiped all traces of any emotion away from her face and coldly stared to Cuddy. She knew that this was going to hurt, but she also knew that it was true and that it had to be said out in the open sooner or later. "Lose the baby?" Gabrielle started. "That's all right, it wrecked my relationship with the man I love. I would rather it not be around to see the home it wrecked anyways."

Cuddy just stood there with no idea what to say. She had been hit, hit hard. What was worse though, was that she couldn't argue it. It was partially right, she did want to put the blame on others, but there was a point where Gabrielle had went to far.

"That's what I thought. I'm going up to help daddy," Gabrielle stated and then turned and left the room. As she started to approach the stairs, she could hear Cuddy begin to cry. She felt bad, but, she also felt that it had to be done. The young girl stopped for a brief moment, but decided to just continue on up the stairs.

Cuddy fell softly to her knees. She was broken. The tears came non-stop, and there was no way that she was going to try and deny them.

Gabrielle got up to the nursery and saw House sitting in the chair with the twins in his lap. "How did it go with giggles down there?" he flatly asked while keeping his attention on the babies.

Gabrielle stood in the door way and sighed. "She needs you," she started. Once House turned and looked to her with curiosity, she then went on. "Now," she stated.

House cradled the babies in his arms and set them down in the crib and then left the room. Gabrielle then went to take his spot in the chair. "Hey there," she softly greeted as she picked Elisabeth up, leaving Jessica to wait her turn. Taking her back to the chair to sit down, she pasted a soft smile on her face. For reasons unknown to her, she felt as if she had to act happy in front of the kids. Not smiling wouldn't change much, but she still had to be on the safe side. "I sure hope that things straighten up around here by the time that you start actually realize what's going on around you," she whispered.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

House entered the kitchen to see Cuddy sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest. "Lisa?" he called out. "What the hell happened to you?" he questioned.

Cuddy looked up to see him standing right there before her. Right after wiping the tears off her face, she shrugged and shook her head.

House was about to question her a bit more about what had happened, but he knew better by now. There was no way that she would let him get away with it. Instead of saying anything at all, he set cane against the counter and then joined her on the floor. The entire time their eyes were locked on each other, never even leaving each other for a second. Once situated, he took her in his arms and simply held her.

Cuddy welcomed his embrace and rested her head on his chest. It was truly a simple gesture, but it helped more anything else. For a few moments, she felt like everything was going to be okay. For a few moments, she felt happy.

_You can see that I swim  
Through the sea of painful  
You have watched as I pull  
Myself from the floor  
And you were there when I  
Built my tower like pebbles in the rain  
Trying to balance all that I had left  
With what I didn't have anymore_

But would you tear my castle down  
Stone by stone  
And let the wind run through my windows  
'Til there is nothing left but a battered rose  
Would you tear my castle down  
Stone by stone  
And let the wind run through my windows  
'Til there is nothing left but a battered rose

If I had another place to go  
Would you break me, is it that you know  
I have no choice but to rebuild again  
I'm tied so hard I can't remember when  
I last walked free upon these feet of mine  
But I'll draw the line  
There will come a Time  
When I am stronger  
Your words won't hurt any longer

~Castle Down by Emilie Autumn 


	31. Old Wounds part 1

Chapter 31: Old Wounds (part 1)

Gabrielle lay on her side. She was in a hospital, and she could see random people watching her through the window. They all stood there and watched.

Tears streaked her face as she looked at all of them. As bad as she wanted to get up and run away, she couldn't. She couldn't even tell them to all go away. They were there, and that was where they were staying.

Slowly, she lifted her shirt up, revealing the scar that Eloise had left on her when she was a little kid. The jagged scar left from the vase that she had broken.

The cold scalpel pressed down on the scar, and moved along. As the skin was sliced, she could feel the tickling of the blood dripping down her back and belly. The cut though, it didn't hurt. All she could feel was the coldness of the knife and the warmth of the blood.

As soon as the scalpel was lifted, she turned over and saw Cuddy standing there, holding the scalpel with the blood still dripping off of it. "Why?" Gabrielle whimpered.

Gabrielle awoke in the middle of the night. Her pillow was wet from both her sweat and tears. Sitting up, she reached for her inhaler to try and calm her rapid breathing.

Running her hand through her hair, she looked up and saw her reflection in the mirror. Against her better judgment, she got up and walked over to the mirror. Nothing special, just the same person that she saw everyday when she fixed her hair and checked her outfit. Once she leaned over and turned the light on though, she saw her reddened face, the tear stains down her cheeks, the glossed over eyes. That dream meant something to her, and she didn't know what it meant.

She took a deep breath and rolled up her shirt. The scar had always been there, but she never really looked at it. Whenever she took a shower or got changed, she would look away from the area and pretend that it wasn't there.

As she eyed the scar, she ran her finger down it. It didn't hurt her, it was just weird to see it. Weird to realize that nine years ago, things like that happened to her.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The next morning, Gabrielle woke up before everyone else. It was quiet, she was alone and she liked it like that. Right now, she didn't want for any of them to wake up for a while.

House, she didn't care, but she didn't want to see Cuddy. After the way that she had yelled at her last night and the dream that she had, she knew that she would feel uneasy around her.

It was silly, and it was childish, but the dream still bothered her. There was something about it, it felt too real to her. Ever since she woke up, she felt more paranoid, more vulnerable. Yes, it was only a dream, but it was definitely strong enough to have an affect on her.

"I've gotta get outta here today," she mumbled to herself. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started texting.

"Got another cult meeting with that weird thing you belong to?" House questioned as he went past her to the fridge.

Gabrielle quickly wheeled around to him. "You mean go to church? No. Why?" she asked.

"It looked like you were secretly trying to get the other followers to join you in something," he responded as he pulled the milk carton out of the fridge and took a drink.

"Actually, I think I might be hanging out with Cori and Ally, if that's okay," she informed him.

"Sure," House answered as he put the milk back. He then turned back to her. "Just as long as you take one of the kids with you," he instructed.

Gabrielle stood there and considered it for a moment. "Give me twenty and I'll take Jessie with me for the entire day," she offered.

"Deal," he agreed.

Gabrielle walked over with a smile as she held her hand out. "I'll go get her ready and then I'm out of here," she explained.

"Just be careful and call if anything happens," House said.

"Will do," Gabrielle responded. She went up to the nursery to grab Jessica, but froze as soon as she saw Cuddy standing in there taking care of Elisabeth.

"Good morning," Cuddy stiffly greeted. She didn't want to hold a grudge over what happened last night, but she was still hurt.

Gabrielle suddenly felt her body begin to tighten up. "I'm sorry about last night," she said as she walked over to the crib and grabbed Jessica.

"Right," Cuddy breathed out. She then looked over and saw Gabrielle changing Jessica and pulling out a new outfit for her. "You can just keep her in her pajamas," she stated.

"Oh, um, I told daddy that I wanted to go see Cori and Ally. I can go if I take Jessica with me," Gabrielle explained.

Cuddy let out a heavy sigh. "Of course he would do that," she remarked.

"I could stay here if you want me to stay," Gabrielle offered. At this point, no matter how bad she wanted to get out, she was not about to even think about arguing with her. All she wanted was a peaceful day with as little tension as possible.

"No, just go," Cuddy ordered. "And leave Jessica here."

Gabrielle just nodded and left the room. She had fought the urge to turn around and ask.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle lead Cori, Ally and Kevin through the hall at the hotel. "You three are about to meet one of the most awesome people ever," Gabrielle informed them as they turned the corner.

"I'm sorry, I thought you already knew me," Kevin remarked.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes as she stopped before the door and knocked. "Andy?"

Andy came over and opened the door. "Hey, the bitch brought a posse," he commented and then stepped aside and motioned for everyone to walk in. "Who are these people?" he asked.

"Cori, Ally, and Kevin," she introduced each of them as she motioned to them.

Andy introduced himself to them and then turned to Gabrielle and slyly smiled to her. "Don't trust yourself alone with me anymore?" he joked.

Gabrielle just laughed. "Please, it's not like I would have been able to find it if we had gone any further," she replied and then walked passed him. She sat down on the bed and leaned back against the wall.

The others, kind of looked a bit lost. Ally and Cori were a bit awkward and didn't know what to think of Andy yet, and Kevin was a bit mad at Andy. He didn't know why, but he was a little jealous at the moment.

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Andy questioned as he sat down on a chair.

Gabrielle looked around the room between the four of them. "Does anyone here know anything about what different dreams mean?" she implored.

Cori went and joined her on the bed. "You mean like the deeper meanings behind the imagery and all that?" she questioned.

Gabrielle nodded.

"And I'm assuming you're the one who had the dream?" Kevin asked.

"You're one of them special geniuses aren't ya?" Gabrielle asked. Sighing, she looked around the room, pausing briefly on each of their faces. These were people that she could trust, she had to learn that. Not everyone was out to get her, and not every little secret she let out would come back to haunt her and hurt her. "I have a scar, and in my dream, Lisa cut it open," she blurted out.

Andy looked to her with sympathy. "The one you've been hiding since I met you?" he inquired. It was obvious to him that there was something she was hiding. She had a pretty good body, and he knew that she wasn't too self conscious about how she looked.

Gabrielle looked to him and nodded. "I got it when I was little, and up until now, she and my daddy were the only ones who knew about it," she explained.

Ally looked over with concern. "How'd you get it?" she questioned.

Everyone looked over to her and then back over to Gabrielle. Everyone else there was curious, but she was the only one brave enough to ask. Gabrielle noted that and offered a slight smile. "I uh, well, I broke my Aunt's vase," Gabrielle answered.

Andy put two and two together in his head. "The one that was trying to get custody of you," he meant it to be a question, but it came out as more a statement to himself.

"Yes."

Cori looked over to Gabrielle. "You think you're afraid of Lisa finding out more about all of this?" she asked.

Gabrielle shrugged. "I don't know, I mean lately we've been fighting more than usual. Then again though, things have been a bit more stressful lately," she explained.

"Maybe you're afraid of Lisa getting hurt," Andy suggested, thinking back to the day that he helped Gabrielle babysit.

Gabrielle slowly looked over to him. Wide eyed with realization. "She has a history of miscarrying," she softly said.

"That would explain it," Cori stated, looking over to Andy.

Gabrielle got up and hugged Andy. "Thank you," she said. Now, she could go back home without being completely paranoid.

"Sure," Andy responded.

Kevin looked over and watched with a subtle glare. For some reason he was a bit mad that Andy knew so much more about what was going on in her life than he did. Ally noticed him from across the room and stifled a small laugh. She knew.

"Opening up old wounds," Gabrielle remarked as she pulled back. "I hope that it doesn't actually happen to her."

"And if it does?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know," Gabrielle flatly admitted.


	32. Old Wounds part 2

Chapter 32: Open Wounds (part 2)

Gabrielle walked into the house. There was the normal noises that she would hear. Nothing was out of place. It still didn't seem right though. Almost eerie. Then again, it could have just been her. Paranoia maybe? Yes. And why not, she was worried about her parents. She was worried about Cuddy in particular.

Leaning against the outside of the railing for the staircase, she distantly stared through the small hall to the kitchen. In the doorway, she could see House sitting at the table with Rachel as they worked on some sort of game or something. She couldn't see what they had, but she could see how much Rachel was enjoying herself.

Then, by the sink, she could see Cuddy carrying Elisabeth around as she tried to get her to take her medicine. She was being fussy though, pushing away the small dropper as she carefully kept her eyes on the foreign object. Jessica, who was oblivious to everything currently going on around her, sat in her high chair and played with a couple of soft blocks.

Yes, it all looked very normal. Even, happy. The problem was that Gabrielle felt she could see through it. It wasn't an act that was being put on, but there was just more to it. She could clearly remember House admitting that he was afraid he would be a bad father because he wouldn't be able to play with his kids like most parents could, and she knew that he resented himself for it and was completely dreading the day that they would ask to play tag or catch with him outside. She knew that Cuddy was scared of everything with these kids, the division of attention, Elisabeth's breathing. It was all something that she constantly worried about, and while worrying, she was afraid that she would miss out because she spent too much time worrying.

After pondering on the scene before her, Gabrielle decided to walk in and join them. She had something that she had to do though. Before she could start any casual conversation or enjoy the moment like everyone else in there, she had to do something, something that she owed to Cuddy. "Mom?' she softly called out as she stepped into the kitchen. "Can I talk to you a minute?" she sheepishly requested.

"Sure," Cuddy sighed as she set Elisabeth down in her high chair. She walked out and followed Gabrielle upstairs to her room. "What is it?" she questioned.

Gabrielle sat down on the edge of her bed and looked up to Cuddy with pity. "About last night, I'm sorry. I know I said more than I should have," she said.

Cuddy folded her arms. She let out a small laugh in spite of the situation and shook her head. "You say that you're sorry every time. And every time something happens, you go and you do it again," Cuddy explained.

Deep down, she knew that Gabrielle was truly sorry. She had no trouble believing that. The only thing though, was that she was tried of always being the one that was torn down. Between Gabrielle and House, all her feelings and everything were always being aired out while those two were sealing themselves off from everyone. At times she felt that she was the only vulnerable one there, and she hated that.

Gabrielle looked down for a moment and tried to gather herself. "What is it that you want to know so badly?" she implored as she looked back up to her. "I mean, you already know that I'm basically dependent on my dad, you know that I was abused growing up, and you know that my mother is dead. What could you possibly want to hear about?" she inquired, losing her patience.

"I'm just tired of feeling like the only one who kind hide anything around here! I mean, I knew to expect a little bit of that when I moved in with you two. But come on," Cuddy nearly pleaded. "Do you know what it feels like to constantly have people bring up everything that you resent about yourself?" she questioned.

Gabrielle looked to her with shock. "How could you even ask that?" she asked, slightly offended as she stood up. "You've met Eloise."

Cuddy just stood there and watched her with both regret and sympathy. A line was just crossed.

"Every fucking day with her, all I heard was how much I ruined my mother's life. I heard why my father left, I heard why my mom got divorced. It was all my fault! I was too stupid, too stubborn, too ill mannered, too bratty, too selfish! I caused all the tension and all of the fighting! I was the reason that my mom started drinking! I was the unwanted, unneeded child in the family!" Gabrielle explained close to tears of frustration.

The room fell silent as Gabrielle paused and took a deep breath. "I was the burden that ruined everyone's lives. And that was all I heard from the time that I was eight until about thirteen," she explained, trying to steady her voice. "And when I wasn't with her, I was with mommy dearest sometimes she would tell me to get the hell out of her life. Then, other times, she would tell me to leave her alone before I made things even worse."

Cuddy stiffened up at the last part. She stood there, speechless as she watched Gabrielle go and sit back down on her bed. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Don't be. You're the reason I'm not there anymore," Gabrielle stated. "And for future reference, I'm pretty sure that my daddy has never asked me about all of this, because he already knows. He was there through his own thing. So, just be patient with him when he's doing that to you," she instructed. It wasn't quite fair, but she knew that what she just told Cuddy was one of the hardest things that she has ever told anyone, and she knew that House had to have felt the same way about a lot of things.

Gabrielle say there and dried her eyes. "I think I'm going to go for a walk now," she stated as she stood up. All she wanted now was to be by herself. To have some time to think.

Cuddy nodded. It would have been a mistake to stop her. All it would have done was made things worse. What she heard though, it left her with a few questions. They were best kept to herself though right now.

Cuddy walked back downstairs and into the kitchen as Gabrielle left. "I did something I shouldn't have," she flatly announced as she walked passed House towards Elisabeth.

"We heard," he responded and then looked down to Rachel. "Didn't we?"

"Ya," she excitedly answered.

Cuddy sighed. "I know that she needs to talk about that stuff, but I probably should have gone about that a little differently," she admitted as she picked Elisabeth up to try to give her the medicine again.

House looked to her and sighed. "You know, you could have just forgiven her," he suggested. Yes, there was a definite chance that that answer would anger her, but he felt that it was his duty to be honest.

"Right," Cuddy sharply replied. "Always forgive her and give her a second chance to tear away at me."

"You're right, that's so much worse than chasing her out of the house," he remarked.

"You're an ass, you know that?" she questioned.

"Ass!" Rachel squealed.

Cuddy quickly looked to her with wide eyes. "Rachel! Never say that! Mommy's bad for saying that," she pleaded, as if Rachel truly understood.

House just laughed. "I always thought it would be either me or Gabi that would teach her that," he commented.

"Greg! This isn't funny! She's not even two yet!" Cuddy snapped.

"Oh come on, the kid said one thing. She'll forget about it in a week. Getting excited will only encourage her," House explained.

"I hope you're right," Cuddy responded.

_Are you afraid  
Afraid of the truth  
In the mirror staring back at you  
The image is cracked  
But so is the view here  
And the strength of a tree  
Begins in the roots  
That I tend to bury into you  
At least now the storm  
Can't blow me away_

So crawl inside  
My head with me  
I'll show you how  
It feels to be  
To blame like me

Should I be afraid  
Of this face that I see  
In the mirror staring back at me  
So cold were the days  
When I listened to you  
And you say that I'm weak  
So show me the proof  
Because I still exist in spite of you  
But I won't compete  
With you every day

~Schizophrenic Conversations by Staind


	33. Old Wounds part 3

Chapter 33: Old Wounds (part 3)

Gabrielle walked down the street. There were a lot of things on her mind right now. Her mother, her aunt, her entire childhood, the fact that House and Cuddy could fall apart at any moment.

She made her way down to the park and sat down on one of the swings. All by herself. There were a lot of things that she was ashamed of from her past, and they were all coming back to her. The time that she had started drinking herself, when she sold drugs a few times, the first time that she stood up to Eloise and got shoved up against the wall. Even the time that she had tried to swallow a bottle of pills, but got caught and was forced to throw up and taken to the hospital.

Those few things that she would never tell anyone, no matter what. Yes, she was older now, and yes she did understand that all the things she did were wrong and that the adults in her life were also screwed up. But sometimes, just sometimes, she still felt like that same little girl again. That same, guilty, worthless little girl that only screwed up people's lives.

"Someone knows how to hide," House sarcastically remarked as he came up beside her and sat down on the other empty swing. "It only took me a few minutes to find you."

Gabrielle looked over and smiled to him. "I didn't think anyone was looking for me," she explained.

"You're right. I usually just love my teenage daughter wondering around outside without telling me where she's going," he remarked.

Gabrielle laughed. "You were worried about me weren't you?" she questioned, knowing that he didn't want to answer her.

"In your words, Lisa thinks I'm cute when I'm protective. I thought I would take a shot at getting some action tonight," he explained.

Gabrielle laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that," she said. "I'm pretty sure that if you had any chance at all for tonight, that I just ruined it for you."

A moment of silence passed between the two. House finally decided to brake it. "You know," he started as he looked up to her. "Lisa's worried," he stated.

Gabrielle nodded as she looked down. "So am I," she said. "Then again, I think we're all worried about everything," she went on. This, she knew was true. Everyone there was fragile.

"I think you opened her eyes to something she didn't want to see. She was expecting to go up there and get you to apologize to her and even things out," House stated. "But you sort of ruined her plans. Put a bit of a downer on her day."

Gabrielle looked to him. "What would you have done if she asked you?" she implored. She truly wanted to know. She knew that there was no way that he would ever do what she just did, and she also knew that he had gone through some of the same stuff.

House shrugged and looked forward as he thought about it. "I would say that it wasn't that bad," he responded.

"So the very opposite of what I did," she commented.

House turned back to her. "Although, I can guarantee you that she'll never ask you about your childhood again," he informed her.

"Good," Gabrielle responded.

"So, I have to get back or get killed because I left her with the babies. Wanna come back with me? Or stay here?" he asked as he stood up from the swing.

Gabrielle stood up. "I'll come with you, this place is too crowded for me right now," she answered.

"You were never very social were you?" House questioned as they made their way to the parking lot.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle sat up in her room. It was night time and the entire house was quiet as she looked through some of her old diaries that she had saved. One entry talking about how badly she wanted to run away, and then the next talking about a party that she had been too.

Normally, she wouldn't even think about looking back on all of this stuff, but it was these moments that she saved it for. The moments where she couldn't get the past out of her head. The very times in which she wondered how she used to make it.

"Can I talk to you a moment?"

Gabrielle quickly closed the book and looked up to see Cuddy standing in the doorway. "Sure," she answered, although the last time she said that, things didn't work out too well.

Cuddy came in and sat down on the bed next to Gabrielle. "I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I think I might have pushed a bit too far," she said.

Gabrielle just shrugged. At this point, she didn't care anymore. It wasn't her fault that all of those things happened, and this wasn't the first time that she had thought back about all of those things. "It's fine," she responded.

"Are you sure?" Cuddy asked. She was a bit surprised that she let it go that easily. Then again, ever since she had come back home, she didn't seem to care much about it anymore.

"Yeah," Gabrielle reassured her. "I mean, I don't like to talk about it, but it did happen. And talking about or keeping it to myself doesn't change it," she casually explained.

"Alright," Cuddy sighed, not too convinced with what she was hearing. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay," she said and then stood up and headed for the door.

Gabrielle smirked and looked up to her. "I said something that scared you?" she implored. She knew that there was something that she was worried about. Just the way she had to double check.

Cuddy stopped and turned around. "All of it, actually," she flatly answered.

Gabrielle motioned for her to come back and sit down next to her. Once she complied with her request, Gabrielle went on. "What are you thinking that I am about to do?" she implored.

"I don't really know. It was just a lot to hear and you were so upset," Cuddy started.

Gabrielle shook her head. "In all honesty, If I were going to off myself, I wouldn't have waited this long," she explained.

Cuddy's face was suddenly filled with concern. Yes, she was thinking it before, but she didn't really expect to hear her mention it.

After not hearing anything from Cuddy, Gabrielle decided that she had better change the subject. "And actually, the only reason I brought you up here to talk in the first place was because I was worried about you. I mean, look at the way you've been acting, so stressed out. I'm not saying that you don't have a reason to be, but I thought that I would apologize and then there would be a little less tension between us and things would be a little smoother around here," she explained.

"I see," Cuddy said. She was a bit curious about what was going through her head right now, but she didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to sit here and hear about everything that could go wrong. There had been too much trying to convince herself that everything was okay, too much lying to herself to have it all undone within seconds. "I'll admit, I've been the source of stress around here lately," she flatly stated. "I'll try and relax before I go over the deep end," she assured her.

Gabrielle smiled. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let you get to the deep end," she promised.

Cuddy returned the smile. "I hope you're right," she said and then stood up.

"Good night," Gabrielle said.

"Good night," Cuddy responded before leaving the room.

Gabrielle sat back and leaned against the wall. She looked back over at her diary and hesitated before picking it back up to read. Just about to reach for it, she stopped herself. There was no reason to reread it. Living through it once was enough to make sure that she would never forget it, why torture herself with the small details?

Instead she picked up the book and tossed it in the waste basket. "It's over with," she told herself.


	34. Crash

Chapter 34: Crash

A month had passed. Gabrielle and Andy had started dating. Right now, they were currently sitting down in the darkened living room by themselves.

She laid against him on the couch. Her head laying on his chest, his arms securely around her.

"I've got a confession to make," Andy announced.

Gabrielle lifted her head and looked to him. "Yeah? What's that?" she questioned.

Andy looked around the room and then back to Gabrielle. "I wanna kiss you, but I think your father might just be watching us. I don't know how, but I really think he is," Andy replied.

Gabrielle leaned up and kissed him. "See?" she asked, pulling back from him. "He's not watching us."

"He still scares me," Andy stated.

Gabrielle sighed as she laid back down on his chest. "Yeah, well, that was the point," she explained. "It took him fifteen years to get me, and he doesn't want to lose me to some teenage boy that could just dump me when ever he pleases," she said.

"You really think that's how I think?" Andy implored. He wanted her to know how much he truly did care for her, even if they had had their differences in the past.

"No, but it doesn't mean that it can never happen," she answered. To her, nothing was ever actually permanent. Nothing in her life up to this had been consistent for her, so why should anything else be? She hated to tell Andy that, but it was true. Nothing was forever.

"Right," Andy flatly agreed. He wanted to tell her no, to argue with her, but that would have been just a waste of time.

"Don't worry, I don't expect it from you anytime soon," she reassured him.

Andy laid his head back over the arm rest of the couch. "Why do you always think so negatively?" he questioned. It was a bit bold of him to ask, but he wanted to know. Ever since he had met her, she had been the one to state the worst that could happen. She was the one that was always not only prepared for the worst, but completely expecting it.

Gabrielle lifted herself off of him and sat up. She brushed her hair back and coldly looked to him. As soon as she saw the concern in his eyes though, her expression softened. "Its easier than getting your hopes up only to be painfully let down," she said.

Andy just nodded in response. "I see," he whispered.

Gabrielle softly laughed. "I hope you don't," she remarked. She figured that the only way he could understand what she was saying, was to go through the same thing. Never would she wish that upon anyone.

"You know, it's funny," she commented as she positioned herself to lean against the back of the couch. "Sometimes, I still feel like that dumb, helpless little girl. Just watching everything around me fall apart, and not be able to do anything about it. It's almost like watching a car crash. You know what's about to happen, but there's not a damn thing you can do about it, and then afterwords, you find out that you're the one that distracted the driver and caused the wreck."

Andy sat up and looked to her with sympathy. "You know that you're not the one to cause every bad thing to happen, right?" he asked.

Gabrielle laughed as she nodded. "Vain isn't it?"

"Yes, actually," Andy agreed.

Gabrielle slyly smiled as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, that's the kind of girlfriend you chose. Vain, arrogant, and a smart ass. Now what?" she questioned.

Andy sighed and shrugged. "Break up with her?" he teased.

"I think I can change your mind," Gabrielle informed him.

"Yeah?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but we gotta be careful. My daddy went through your wallet and counted the condoms that you had in there. So, there had better be three in there to tomorrow when he counts them again," she stated.

"Mood killer," Andy said before kissing her.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cuddy awoke in the middle of the night. This was not unusual for her. A lot of times lately she would wake up because she had to throw up. Other times, she would hear one of the babies. Right now though, was odd.

Sitting up, she rested her hand on her abdomen. She was beginning to cramp. It suddenly hit her, what could have been happening.

Nervously, she scrambled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. This did wake House up, but he figured that it was for her routine sickness and shrugged it off.

Cuddy got to the bathroom and shut the door. With hesitating, she started to examine herself. First, her pants. Nothing on the outside, so she took them off and looked inside. A small dab of blood. "No," she softly gasped.

Reluctantly, she forced herself to look down. Blood. Red blood. Soaking her underwear and beginning to drip down her thigh.

Tightly closing her eyes, she leaned back against the wall and tilted her head up towards the ceiling. She wasn't surprised. One time, she was lucky, and that was all that she was destined to get.

Opening her eyes, she expressionlessly stared up to the ceiling. Even though she was scared, even though she was stressed out, even though she didn't need this baby, it was hers. It all finally dawned on her, this was her baby, the baby that her and House had made together, and now, right as she was losing it, she wanted it more than ever. Yes, there was a chance that the baby was still alive, but since this was her, the odds were against her.

"Greg!" she called out. Looking off to the side, weary eyes waiting for him to come through the door.

After what felt like forever, the door opened. He didn't need to ask what was going on, he could see it himself. All he did was stand there, watching her from the doorway. "I'll go let Gabi know we're leaving," he flatly stated before turning and leaving.

Cuddy pushed herself off the wall and nodded. Folding her arms, she took one more look, just to make sure of what she had seen. The blood was still there. She could feel it, but she wanted to believe that that wasn't enough, she wanted to believe that her feelings could be wrong. They weren't though.


	35. It All Begins to Fade

Chapter 35: It All Begins to Fade

House opened the door to Gabrielle's room and hit his cane on the night stand. "Gabi!" he called out.

Gabrielle's eyes flew open as she sat up. "What?" she asked, trying to catch her breath.

"I'm taking Lisa to the hospital. Just make sure that if you one of the babies or all of them, that you don't just lay there and wait for one of us to go get them," House explained to her.

Gabrielle finally calmed down. She wanted to ask, but at the same time, she already knew. "Um, I think you should know that Andy is asleep downstairs on the couch," she informed him. That wasn't really what she wanted say, but it was the only thing besides asking what was going on.

"Honesty points," House said, pointing to her. "Although, honesty tends to get you into more trouble than lying does at times," he stated.

Gabrielle sat there and nodded. She waited until he turned and left the room before she completely got out of bed. Out in the hall, she saw Cuddy walk past her door. "Wait," she softly called from her doorway.

Cuddy stopped and turned back to her. "Yeah?" she questioned.

Gabrielle studied her tear stricken face with sympathy. Instead of trying to think of something to say at this moment, she just walked over and hugged her.

Cuddy pulled back after a brief moment. "Thank you," she hoarsely choked out before turning and rushing down the stairs.

Gabrielle stood there and folded her arms. For some reason, she wasn't as scared as she thought she would be. Some part of her was almost relieved. Perplexed, she decided to turn and face her parent's bedroom. She discovered that their bathroom door was still open, and the light still flooding out into the room.

Steadily, she made her way to the room and stood before the bathroom. She didn't quite know what she was expecting to see. There was nothing there out of the ordinary. The only thing out of place might have been slightly moved was a towel that was laying over the side of the bathtub. Actually, it looked a lot like the bathroom down the hall that she would use.

Deciding that there was nothing here to help her, she sighed and turned the light off before she left. Instead of heading to her room though, she went over to check on the sleeping babies and then downstairs. Naturally since she had mentioned his presence to House, he would have to wake him.

"Hey," Andy groggily greeted. He was sitting up on the couch, searching through the channels on the television.

Gabrielle stood there on the staircase for a moment before she continued down. "Hey," she softly responded.

"I heard about your mom. I'm sorry," he stated with genuine concern. Turning to her with those deep brown eyes of his.

Gabrielle offered a small smile and then went to sit on the chair next to the couch. "Did my daddy seems upset?" she implored.

Andy shrugged. "Kinda," he answered as best as he could. It was hard to tell how someone was feeling within the first couple of minutes after waking up. "How about you?"

She didn't want to answer that. It was Andy though, and they did have a bit of a history. "Nothing," she flatly replied. She saw how confused he was, and went on to explain. "I feel nothing at all. And quite honestly, that scares me a little."

Andy shrugged. "Maybe you built this whole thing up in your mind so much with those dreams that you were having that when it did actually happen, it was a lot less worse than you imagined," he suggested.

Gabrielle accepted the answer. She wasn't sure if he was correct, but it did make her feel a bit better about everything, and to her, that was all that mattered at the moment. "Maybe," she breathed out.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

House sat out in the waiting room while Cuddy was getting examined. He really didn't like being out there. Being a doctor, he was always used to being in the room, but he couldn't be in there either right now.

It wasn't like he didn't know what the outcome was going to be. There was blood and cramps, he knew what that meant, and he was pretty sure that Cuddy had the same ideas he did. It was lost. There was no baby anymore. The only reason that they were here was for Cuddy to be sure about it and to make sure that there would be no complications.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned his head back against the wall. He hated this already. Ever since he and Cuddy had been together, everything had been going wrong for her. Complications during the first pregnancy, then the baby was sick, then he got hurt and she felt guilty about it, and now this.

Maybe, he thought, maybe, they should just give up. End it before it gets too bad. Before the kids get old enough to understand. Before he causes any more damage. Take himself out of the picture before he breaks her.

Playing with his cane, he started to focus on it. He tried to block out all of the thoughts, to let himself go back to believing that everything was going to be okay.

Just then, something else came to mind, was it really him trying to save her? Or were these the thoughts trying to convince him that running out was the best thing for her?

They could be. He was scared. Always has been, and most likely, always will be. He knew the second that he saw Cuddy standing there with blood on her, things were going to be different. There would be a bit more fighting between them, a lot more tension in the house. It would be uncomfortable and hard to be there.

That wasn't what he wanted to think. He preferred the version of him being noble and doing the right thing and saving her as opposed to the good old House got scared and ran away again story. That was a part of him that he was really growing to hate. That was the part of him that ruined so many things for him.

"Let's go," Cuddy announced. Her voice was weak and raspy.

House looked up to her. "All right," he responded as he stood up. He didn't even have to ask what happened. She lost the baby.

Following her out to the car, he thought about what he was going to do next. He caught up to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She accepted it and leaned her head against his shoulder.

They got to the car and each got in and sat there in the silence. House didn't want to leave yet. He had to tell her, see what she thought about everything. Sitting back, he took a moment to plan out what he was going to tell her.

Cuddy sat there and put on her seat belt. She noticed that he wasn't starting the car and looked over to him with confusion. "Can we just go please?" she requested. This had been a long night, and all she wanted to do was go home and go back to bed.

House sighed and looked back to her. "Now what?" he flatly asked. There was no expression in his eyes as he watched her and waited for her to say something.

"Not now Greg," she nearly pleaded, getting ready to cry. It was a loaded question that she did not want to have to answer right now. She was too emotional and too tired to even attempt to fully understand quite what he was asking.

"Fine," he responded. If she didn't want to talk, they weren't going to talk. Maybe it was better that way anyways. He could just wait a couple of weeks and then walk out.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

They got home just as the sun was getting ready to rise. House, decided that he was just going to stop in to get ready for work while Cuddy took the day off.

The two walked into the quiet house. Cuddy softly laughed as she spotted Gabrielle on the couch with Rachel passed out on her. House took a quick glance over and then headed straight up stairs.

Cuddy walked over and watched the scene for a moment. Right now, she did feel empty. Even though she hadn't ever held the baby, it was completely real to her. It was hers. Was, hers. She went and picked the little girl up, trying to be careful to not wake either, but she had failed.

"Momma?" she asked, almost ready to cry.

"Shh, it's okay. Go back to sleep," she softly whispered.

Gabrielle woke up to see Cuddy standing before her, slowly walking Rachel back and forth. "I don't think she was feeling good last night," she explained. "Andy and I took turns trying to get her to go back to sleep."

"Sorry about that," Cuddy responded. She then looked over to Rachel, who was beginning to yawn. "Did you cause trouble last night?" she teased.

"How are you doing?" Gabrielle asked as she sat up.

Cuddy knew what she was really getting ready to ask and just shook her head. No need to drag out a conversation that could be done in a few moments to a ten minute thing. Also, she just did not want to talk about it right now. At the moment she was trying her hardest to distract herself from what had just happened, and talking about it was not going to help that.

Gabrielle picked up on the hint and nodded. "I'm sorry," she said. "But, on the other hand, you learned that Andy and I can take care of things for a few hours without the entire place falling apart," she informed her, in attempt to change the subject.

Cuddy noted her effort and smiled. "I see that," she responded. She then looked around. "Where is he anyways?" she questioned.

"If I remember right, he is up stairs in the nursery. He probably fell asleep after he got them back to sleep. Last night when Rachel got up, she sorta had to make sure that everyone here was up with her," Gabrielle explained.

Cuddy checked on her daughter. "Well, she's asleep now. I think I'll go ahead and take her back upstairs and put her to bed," she stated.

"All right, I'll be up there in a few. I wasn't meant to be up this early on a Saturday morning, and it's starting to catch up with me," Gabrielle mentioned.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Andy woke up as he heard someone walk pass the nursery. He stretched in the rocking chair that he had fallen asleep in and looked around the room. The first thing that he noticed was that there was a little bit of light coming through the window.

He got up to head back down stairs, but heard a voice. House's voice.

"Wilson?" House questioned.

Andy stopped by the door and stood there for a moment. The door was only cracked open, so he figured that he was safe there from his sight. Honestly, all he wanted to know was if he was going to talk about him. For the past few weeks that he and Gabrielle had been dating, he had been wondering what House had really thought about him.

"Damn, I was calling because I thought it was late," House sneered. "Now that we have the time established, I actually have something important to talk about, and I don't think that it can wait."

Now, Andy knew that it was not going to be about him, but he was still curious.

"It's about Lisa. She just lost the baby," he solemnly announced.

There was a silence for a moment.

"I'm thinking that maybe I should just leave," House informed him.

Andy raised his eyebrows. Now, he knew something major, something that he shouldn't have even heard.

Surprised, he slowly walked back over to the rocking chair and sat down. Without giving it much thought, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had to tell Gabrielle right away, and right now, he was nervous about just leaving the room. He texted her about the conversation.

As soon as he put his phone back, he heard Cuddy come up the stairs and decided to just act like he was sleeping. That way, there would be no questions. He heard her open the door and peek in, but that was all.

Downstairs, Gabrielle heard her phone go off. At first, she smiled. She thought that maybe House had said something to Andy and he wanted her to come up and distract House or something. As she read through the message though, her smile quickly faded. "Oh no," she softly gasped.

Sitting there on the couch, she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Right now, there was nothing that she could do. She had to talk to him eventually, but she had to figure out a way that she would sense something wrong, other than Andy telling her.


	36. Doubts

Chapter 36: Doubts

Wilson sat behind his desk as his patient walked in and sat down before him. Regretfully sighing, he folded his hands over the test results that were laid out on the desk. "Now, Mr. Harrelson, we took a look at your blood count and re-ran a few tests," he started, but was interrupted by House casually strolling into the room and sitting down on the couch.

"House!" Wilson snapped.

House looked over and acknowledged the patient. "Well, is he gonna live or die?" he asked.

Mr. Harrelson turned and anxiously looked to Wilson.

Wilson sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry Mr. Harrelson. By these results, I would say that you have roughly four months at least. Possibly, you could make it up to about six," he announced as gently as he could.

"There. Problem solved. Now let's move onto those who still have a life ahead of them," House impatiently stated.

"I see," Mr. Harrelson breathed out. He stood up and shook Wilson's hand. "Thanks for trying," he said and then left.

Wilson waited until he left and then looked up to House. He could yell at him, but it wouldn't do any good. "So, you want to leave Cuddy?" he questioned, trying to calm back down.

"That's funny, I thought we already talked about this on the phone," House remarked. He was not in the mood to go through all the leading up, starting out light bullshit. He simply wanted to hear whether or not he was right. This was one of the only decisions he ever made in which he did not trust himself.

Wilson stood up and walked around to the front of his desk. "Fine. What is it you want to hear?" he snapped. "You want me to tell you how unselfish you are to leave her? Is that it? Or maybe you want me to tell you that she won't mind," he started going off on him. "Because maybe in Houseland that seems to work out. Don't think about the kids you're leaving her with. No, they'll take care of themselves. And that one girl that you had her fight to keep for you? She probably won't mind, as a matter of fact, she'll down there helping Cuddy to push you out the door!"

House just stared up to him with cold eyes. "If it's so damn wrong to leave her, why does she keep getting hurt while she's with me?" he hoarsely implored.

Wilson's expression softened. At that very moment, he saw something in House that he had never seen before. He was legitimately blaming himself for everything that has gone wrong.

"Before me, her and Rachel lived day to day in their little home and didn't care about anything else. I come into the picture and she's having problems with this kid, this one has a disease, she miscarried this one," House started. "Maybe she will be a little bit upset with me at first, but later on she'll be a hell of a lot happier."

Wilson was having a hard time coming up with an argument. It wasn't that he thought that House was right, he was just surprised. It was normal for House to run away just because things were a little rough, but this time, he seemed to honestly be putting her first. He blamed himself for her problems, and he wanted to leave so that he wouldn't be causing them anymore. The only thing though, was that the more he thought about it, the more it sounded like a little kid. In a way, he was still simply running away rather than stepping up and facing it. "And you forced all of this stuff to happen?"

House shrugged. "I know, it's irrational, idiotic, and childish. But, deep down, I know that she would be better off without me," he confessed. "On the way here, all she did was just stare straight ahead. She wouldn't even look at me. She blamed me. She wouldn't talk to me before or after," he explained.

"How do you know that she wasn't just a little preoccupied? I'm sure that there were a lot of things running through her mind," Wilson suggested. He really didn't want to see a relationship end because one person was too busy being nervous to talk to other.

House stood up and looked over to his office for a moment and then back to Wilson. "Here's something for you to think about. My current case, a three year old with no allergies, but her throat keeps closing up. I'll most likely be able to fix her, but mine at home is incurable while another has a history of suicide attempt and getting beaten," he informed him and then started for the door. "Pretty bad when you wish that you're kids had what your patient comes in with just so that you could be able fix them rather than watch them suffer," he stated, and then left.

Wilson just stood there and watched him leave. What was he supposed to say to that?

O o o o o o o o

Gabrielle and Andy sat up in her room. He sat in the chair as she laid down on her bed. She was trying to think of what to do to get House to stay. She had to think of something that would convince him that he was wrong.

"Did he say why?" Gabrielle asked, for what seemed like the one hundredth time that day. It was hard for her to believe that he was just planning on leaving like that. There was the miscarriage, but that was one event out of the others. There were times that were worse that he had remained there.

"Nope," Andy answered.

"Right," Gabrielle reminded herself. All these ideas kept running through her mind, but she could see all of them failing. "Maybe I should just go down and see him. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? He'll tell me I'm wrong and then leave anyways?" she questioned. All of her plans ended with him leaving. It was starting to feel like his absence was inevitable.

Andy looked over to her with sympathy. "You know, I could talk to him for you," he offered. "I could tell him what I heard and ask if it's true."

"No," Gabrielle laughed. "I would never make you do that," she assured him.

Andy leaned forward. "So, you want to go talk to him about it?" he implored. He knew that she was too worried to go talk to him. All she would do is get in a fight with him, and then they would be mad at each other. On the other hand, if he went, he was intimidated by him. There wouldn't be much of an argument and he would be a bit more calm. He could get more accomplished.

Gabrielle could tell that he was serious about this and decided to let him have the chance. "All right. Let's say I let you go talk to him. What are you going to tell him?" she inquired. This, was important. He didn't know how to talk to him like she did. If he said the wrong thing, then it would messed up and she would get absolutely nothing out of this.

Andy thought for a moment. "Well, I would start out by telling him that I unintentionally overheard the phone conversation and then ask him if he is planning on leaving," he said.

Gabrielle just shook her head. "That won't work, you gotta get him to tell you that he's leaving her. Otherwise all he'll do is deny it like there's no tomorrow," she said and then started to think. "Maybe you could talk to him about your being here on the weekends more often. You know? Try and get him to talk about whether or not he can handle being in the same house with you," she suggested.

Andy shrugged. "Maybe that'll be what gets him to stay here," he stated.

Gabrielle sighed. "You just have to get him on one subject and somehow get him to change the subject himself. I mean, it can't be that hard, I do it naturally to him all the time," she thought out loud to herself. "Maybe I should just handle it myself," she said.

"Do you think that if you told your mom, she could get him to stay?" Andy implored.

Gabrielle sat up and looked to him for a second. "No," she flatly replied. "I can't do that to her right now. That would just be too much," she explained.

If she could help it, she would never have Cuddy find out about him wanting to leave. It was hard though, she didn't know why he was leaving. What if he did have a good reason? And also, who was she too keep him from going if that was what he truly wanted? "Let's just leave it alone for right now," she instructed, blankly staring down towards her bed. "If he goes, he goes," she breathed out and then laid back down on the bed.

"So you're not going to talk to him anymore?" Andy asked. He was taken aback by her last statement. It was like she had suddenly just decided to give up and not care anymore.

Gabrielle looked to him as if he were being completely moronic. "Of course I'm going to talk to him. I have to know why he's doing this. I'm just saying though, if this is what he wants, I can't be the one to tell him no. I can't be the one to keep him here and have him more miserable than usual, bringing the rest of us down with him. I know that if he stays here without wanting to be here, we'll be the ones to pay for it," she explained.

Andy just nodded. He hated to see her just give up, but there was no arguing with her point.

"I guess there's one way to figure out why he wants out," she mentioned as she sat up and grabbed her phone. "I don't think Wilson would be the one to keep secrets," she stated as she began to message him, hoping that House wasn't with him while she was doing this.

Andy sat back and observed her for a minute. "You know that since you're giving up, it really doesn't matter why he's leaving," he told her, just in case Wilson didn't give her an answer.

"I'm still curious," she responded, keeping her eyes down on the phone. Really though, she had to make sure that it wasn't her. It was irrational, and she knew that. Deep down though, there was still that little part of her that made her believe that everything was her fault. It was more a reassurance that she needed. "Besides, if it's something minor, maybe it can be fixed," she lied. There was no such thing as a minor situation involving House and Cuddy.

One of the babies started to cry and Gabrielle stood up and tossed her phone on the bed. "Let me know if you get an answer," she instructed Andy as she walked out.

Andy reached over and grabbed her phone. He might as well humor her.

Gabrielle walked down to the living room and saw Cuddy walking Rachel around. "Need any help down here?" she offered.

Cuddy shook her head. "No, Rachel's just a little fussy. She's still not feeling good," she answered.

Gabrielle walked over to the play pen and looked down at Jessica and Elisabeth. "Hey there," she greeted.

Jessica looked up to her for a second and then continued to play with her teddy bear. Elisabeth crawled over and reached her arms up.

Gabrielle laughed, she knew what the little girl wanted and obliged. "Is that better?" she softly asked. She carried her little sister over to the couch and sat her down on her lap. Playing with her, she continued to peek up at Cuddy, just to see how she was doing.

It was time to ask. "So, how are you doing?" Gabrielle questioned, trying to sound casual.

Cuddy looked over to her for a second before she answered. "I'm fine," she responded. She had had her moments in which she started dwelling on what happened, but as long as she stayed busy, she was okay. It was something that she had to force herself to move on from, and the quicker, the better.

"I'm glad," Gabrielle said with a smile. At least one of her parents was okay.

"Hey, little miss sunshine!" Andy teasingly called from the staircase.

Gabrielle turned and saw him standing there. "What is it?"

Andy held up the phone. "You got a message," he announced.

Gabrielle picked Elisabeth up and headed towards Andy. She took the phone and saw that the message was from Wilson. While opening the message, her heart began to race. It was as if this thing were about to completely change her entire life. She carefully read over what he had to say, and then handed the phone back to Andy.

"What did it say?" he quietly asked.

Gabrielle checked to make sure that Cuddy was preoccupied with Rachel and then turned her attention to Andy. "He's just stressed out and helpless," she whispered. "He said that he feels like everything bad that has happened is his fault."

"Does this mean that you are going to talk to him?" Andy implored.

Gabrielle knew what he was going through, she knew the feeling of blaming yourself for every little flaw. It would never be easy for her to go up to him and tell him to grow up and move on, but at the same time, it was a stupid reason to leave. There was no way that she could ever accept that, and if she couldn't, she knew that Cuddy would never take that answer either.

"I guess," she sighed in defeat.


	37. Don't Go

Chapter 37: Don't Go

Gabrielle and House sat in the living room together. It was later in the night, and Cuddy had already gone to bed. Gabrielle was working on a paper for school while he was looking over some records for his patient.

It was silent, and she was pretty sure that Cuddy was sleeping. Just to make sure though, she went up stairs and peeked into the bedroom and then went into hers and grabbed a book that she really didn't even need.

Ever since she had talked with Andy earlier, she had been planning out this conversation. Preparing for any comebacks that he would have, taking the time to consider a response or argument to whatever he had to tell her. Andy left early and told her to let him know how things went. She fully intended to tell him that it went perfectly.

"You getting anywhere on your case?" she casually questioned as she sat back down on the chair.

"I don't know," he answered without taking his attention from the papers before him.

He was too preoccupied. She had to wait a few moments. There was no way that she could have a productive conversation with him only half listening to what she had to say.

Instead of pestering him and getting him annoyed, she went back to her paper. Patience. There was only one chance to really do this right.

House sat there and stared down at the papers. The records of the little girl that he was working on. Most of his cases were nothing but a puzzle to him. This one however, was different. She was a young girl, he kept imagine if it were one of his daughters laying there in the bed. It was causing him to be more cautious with his tests and treatments, it was making him slow down and really think things through. He was almost nervous to mess up.

Sitting back, he let out a slight groan and rubbed his eyes.

"That bad?" Gabrielle asked. This was the time, he was taking a break.

"There's something missing here. I gotta have them run a few more tests tomorrow," he answered.

Gabrielle nodded. She pretended to go back to working for a moment before she started asking him questions. It had to sound at least a little random. "You ever think about how things could be different?" she implored, trying to act like she really didn't care what his answer was.

"You wanna dye your hair again?" he asked.

Gabrielle lowered her paper and looked to him with annoyance. "No," she replied. "I mean, like, what if I weren't here?" she questioned.

"Yes, if you weren't here I would be able to do whatever the hell I wanted, whenever the hell I wanted," he stated. He just wasn't in the mood to be answering these types of questions.

"Great dad, thanks," she sarcastically responded. There had to be a better question than that. "How about getting married to Lisa? You ever think about that one?"

House heavily sighed. "Why don't you go off and be deep with someone else? I'm too tired to try to pretend to want to try to care," he scornfully suggested as he leaned his head back.

Gabrielle saw it, she hit a nerve. "Geez, you could have just said no," she stated, sounding offended.

House stood up. "Yes," he agreed. "But that would have run the risk of getting more stupid questions," he explained right before he started for the stairs.

Gabrielle sighed as she watched him leave. "You're thinking about leaving aren't you?" she softly inquired.

House stopped and turned to her. He wasn't going to argue, not this time. It wasn't worth it. "Who told you?" he questioned.

"You. You have been acting weird, guilty around Lisa, and then you left early for work and got back late. You have been distant," she answered, hoping that these examples would suffice for him. She set everything down on the table and leaned forward. "I don't wanna argue or even try to stop you, I just want to know why," she gently explained.

House considered it for a moment and then nodded. "Fine, I guess I might as well tell someone since everyone's going to figure it out anyways," he said, limping back towards the couch.

Gabrielle kept her eyes on him as he sat back down and leaned forward. "Do you remember her before we lived together? Before we tried this family thing?" he questioned with a bitter undertone.

Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah, she was busy, a little stressed, a perfectionist. She's still those things if you haven't noticed," she answered. "Then there's that guy that she was dating, the one that wanted to hurt her. And the fact that she wanted her own baby more than anything," she continued.

House sighed. "First off, she's really stressed, unless you think that she can be pushed even further. Second, those were things that could have been changed without me. She could have gone and stayed with someone else. Don't go giving me credit for something that I had no affect on," he sneered.

Gabrielle laughed in spite of his answer. "Don't you get it? She chose to stay with you over everyone else. She chose to be with you. I might have set you two up, but she could have just gotten up and walked out," she explained.

"Just because you want something doesn't mean that it's good for you," House argued. "I took her and made her miserable, and you know it. A few good points doesn't take away from all the bad."

Gabrielle sat back and watched him. "Is it possible that you're the miserable one?" she carefully asked. It was obvious that Cuddy wasn't up there celebrating anything, but it made her wonder though. She knew that House wasn't the typical family man, and this was all happening pretty quickly.

House looked up to her and just stared to her. It was more than possible, it was very true. He was miserable. Not because of Cuddy, not because of the kids or any of that. It was the fact that everything was wrong with it. It wasn't going how it was supposed to, and he was getting tired of trying.

Gabrielle looked down and sighed. "I see," she mentioned. She didn't need an answer to that, she could just see it in his eyes. "So you're definitely leaving?" she questioned.

"Tuesday," he replied. "She'll be at work and the kids will be with her sister and mom instead of the nanny coming here."

Gabrielle's eyes widened. "You can't do that!" she snapped. "She just lost a baby. Give her some time to get over that before you just walk out on her," she demanded.

"I can't!" he argued. "I can't just sit here and pretend that everything is going to be okay. I can't play out this charade anymore! All waiting is going to do is give me time to second guess myself and then stick around to screw things up even more."

"Why would you be the one to screw things up more? I'm no expert, but I don't you're the one causing all of this," she said. It was hard to expect an answer from him, when she herself felt that way a lot, but it could have been the only way to get him to see what he was saying. It was a chance that she could not afford to pass up at this point.

"I'm causing the stress and if a woman is more stressed than usual while pregnant she has a higher chance of miscarriage," he quickly answered.

"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "Just leave. Just run away like a little kid. Then maybe you will be satisfied because our problems will be your fault," she stated and then started towards the stairs.

House slightly turned to her. He was offended, and a little hurt. "How about you just go and," he stopped as soon as she stopped and turned to him. The words wouldn't come out. He couldn't finish his sentence.

As soon as she had heard him begin to talk, she started bracing herself to hear the worst, but when she saw that he wasn't going to continue, she weakly smiled. "Thanks," she said and then hurried up the stairs. She knew that he could have easily hurt her, but he had restrained himself.

House sighed and turned back forward. He was about to tell his daughter to go and cut herself to get away from the fact that she started all of this by setting them up together. Although he didn't say it, he felt bad for even thinking about saying it. It was just like the time he told Cuddy that it was a good thing she failed to be a mother. Yes, it was intended to hurt, but he couldn't keep doing that. "I can't do this anymore," he gruffly said to himself.

Looking down at the table, he saw that she had left her notebook. He gathered his files and put them into the folders before he grabbed a piece of paper from the notebook and wrote a note apologizing to Cuddy. He took his coat and helmet along with the files and left.

Gabrielle sat upstairs on her bed. It was hard to go to sleep with everything that was on her mind. She was scared. Things were about to drastically change, and not for the better.

It was as soon as she heard his motorcycle that she froze. She could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat. He left, and there was no guarantee that he was ever going to come back.

"Where's he going at this time?"

Gabrielle slowly turned and looked to Cuddy with pity. "I don't know," she responded, holding back all of her tears. It was silly, but she didn't want to worry her yet. He could have been just leaving for a little bit. There was still a chance that he may be there in the morning. Of course, it was a slim chance, but there was still something.

"Oh," Cuddy responded, still half asleep. "I'm going to go make sure that he locked the door," she said and then turned and left.

Gabrielle took a deep breath and got up and slowly made her way out into the hall. She just wanted to be out there, just in case he left a note or something to let her know.

She stood out there and waited. Nothing. Just silence. It was starting to worry her even more. As quietly as she could, she stepped around the corner and looked down. Searching the floor that she could see, she saw nothing. She had to go down on the steps, and stopped as soon as she saw Cuddy. Her back was too her as she read over a note.

Cuddy crumbled the paper and threw it across the room. She couldn't believe it. After everything they had gone through, after what she had went through just yesterday, and he left her. Everything, gone. He had taken the good and left her in the middle of a mess. She allowed herself to collapse onto the couch and fall apart.

That was Gabrielle's reassurance. Lowering her head, she allowed the tears to fall. Her daddy had left her.


	38. Risky Behavior part 1

Chapter 38: Risky Behavior (part 1)

Gabrielle sat there on the stairs and cried silently to herself for a few minutes. It hit her then, crying wasn't going to help. It wasn't going to bring him back, and it wasn't going to help Cuddy down there who was already emotional. She had to act.

Quietly, she stood up and headed back up to her room. The first thing she did was call Wilson. "Hey," she said as soon as he finally answered. She had to remember to keep her voice down.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I woke you, but I had to let you know that my daddy actually went through with leaving. I was just hoping that you could let me know if you see him," she explained to him.

Listening to his reassurances and apologies, she nodded and stared out the window. "Thanks. Good night," she said and then hung up.

Right now, she wanted to try and call House, but she knew that he wouldn't answer. There was no way. He was too stubborn for that. Besides, she had no idea what she would say to him anyways. Come back? Tell him how much she missed him?

"Maybe I'd better just go see how mom's doing," she stated to herself. Standing up, she tossed her phone onto her bed and rushed down the stairs.

"Mom?" she called out from the base from the stairs.

Cuddy lifted her head and started wiping at her face. "Yes?" she asked, without turning back to Gabrielle.

Gabrielle cautiously started towards the couch. She was about to start asking her what was wrong, but that would have been too much. She already knew what happened, and people should not ask questions in which they already know the answer to. "You think he's actually gone for good?" she questioned. That was something that even House probably couldn't answer right now.

"You already know?" Cuddy implored. She sat up and turned back to Gabrielle.

The young girl just nodded. "Ten minutes ago I was down here telling to not go," she informed her.

Cuddy just nodded and went back to facing forward. It wasn't hard for her to believe that he had just left like that, but that didn't mean that it was okay either. She needed him, and he left. It wasn't like it was just her and Rachel and she and House were casually dating anymore, he had a responsibility to his family and he abandoned them.

"Are you okay?" Gabrielle questioned.

Cuddy sighed. "Yeah, I'll be fine. You just go back to bed and I'll think about all of this tomorrow," she instructed.

Gabrielle forced a smile and did as she was told. No need to force Cuddy into talking about what had just happened.

O o o o o o o o o o o o o

The next few days were a bit difficult. Gabrielle spent more time helping out with the babies and stayed up a little later than usual working on homework after everyone was asleep. Thursday though, she, Cori, Ally, and Kevin all sat at the lunch table. She figured that it was time to get ideas of what to do.

"All right," she started. "Now, my daddy has not shown up to work yet, Wilson hasn't seen him, and he hasn't responded to anyone."

"Is his phone number still his? Or did he get it changed?" Cori asked.

Gabrielle smiled to her. "Good question. Yes. I tried calling him last night, and it went to his answering machine," she answered. She realized that she was using them the same way that House would use his team. In a way, she liked that, a lot.

"Did he take anything with him?" Ally asked. "Like something that you can track?"

Gabrielle shrugged. "I don't know actually. I should go home and double check that. I know he came back on Tuesday when there was no one there and grabbed some clothes. But other than that, I don't know. His cellphone though, if any of you would know how to track that," she responded.

Kevin smiled and leaned forward. "What about a credit card?"

Gabrielle looked to him with slight suspicion. "You know how to track a credit card?"

"Well, actually no. But, and remember I'm not an expert on this, but the bills go to his address, and I don't think he could've switched his address that quickly," Kevin suggested.

Gabrielle nodded. "I could go home and check the mail before Lisa gets there," she stated.

She folded her hands on the table and looked around to everyone. "Or, I could do something that is guaranteed to work," she said, with a smirk.

"What's that?" Ally implored with genuine interest.

"I could somehow get myself in the hospital. No parent leaves their sick or injured child in the hospital alone," she informed them. "And daddy, even though a bit unfeeling, would definitely show up."

Cori laughed at her idea. "And just how do you propose you get yourself in the hospital?" she questioned.

Gabrielle sat there and thought about it for a while. It couldn't be anything that she could pass on to anyone at home, so it couldn't be an illness. It also couldn't be a failed suicide attempt, because that would scare both House and Cuddy and they would both be constantly watching her. And it couldn't look like anything that she did to herself. "Maybe something asthma related," she thought out loud.

"But, would that get you over night?" Kevin asked.

"If it's bad enough," she replied. "I do have a bad reaction to mold, extremely bad," she thought out loud to herself. Looking up to Cori, a smile spread across her face as she contemplated the idea. "Your house is closest to the hospital, right?" she questioned.

"About ten minutes away," she replied.

Gabrielle nodded. "You have mold over there?" she asked.

Cori shrugged. "I could probably find some for you," she answered.

Gabrielle smiled. "I'll be there tonight. I'll just tell my mom that I'm working on a project," she explained.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Ally asked with concern. She was truly afraid for her.

Gabrielle sighed. "All right. Here's the plan, I will bring my inhaler and epee pen and have Cori put them in her purse and stay by me. You will go and call the ambulance as I am coming into contact with the mold. You can even call a couple minutes before hand, I'll tell you exactly what's going to happen to me so that you can tell them what's going on. If they take too long to get there, I'll signal for Cori to give me the epee pen and I'll be fine," she explained. "Sound good?" she questioned.

Ally still felt a little uneasy about the whole thing, but nodded. "Sure," she answered.

"It'll be fine. I promise," Gabrielle assured her.

O o o o o o o o o o o o

Gabrielle walked in the house and saw Cuddy folding clothes on the couch. "Hi Gabi," she called over.

"Hey mom," Gabrielle said as she set her things down and walked over. "You think you can manage on your own tonight? Cori and I have a project that we have to get done and she wants me over at her house in a couple hours," she said.

"Sure," Cuddy replied. "What time you think you'll be back?"

Gabrielle knew that it didn't matter what she answered. "Around eight," she lied.

"Okay, good luck," Cuddy said.

"Thanks. I'll text you when I get there," Gabrielle told her as she started back towards the stairs. She got up to her room and got changed out of her uniform. She then went around and made sure that she had her epee pen and inhaler in her purse.

"All right, here goes nothing," she said to herself. She was a little nervous, but she just kept telling herself that everything was going to work out. It wasn't like this was the first time she had done this stuff. They had never been this serious though. She would use dust to just get an attack started, mold could actually kill her if she let it get to the point in which her throat closed up.

Taking a deep breath, she went back downstairs and helped out with a couple of the chores before she left.

"Okay Cori, here's my things. I assume you know how to give a shot?" Gabrielle started as she walked through the door.

Cori shook her head.

Gabrielle sighed. "All right," she responded as she took the syringe out and made sure that there were no air bubbles in it and then put it back in the case. "All you have to do is get the needle in my thigh and inject me. Can you handle that?" she asked.

Cori nodded. "But there's a chance that I won't even have to do that, right?" she questioned.

"Most likely," Gabrielle replied and then went over to Ally who was standing on the opposite side of the room. "And you can handle calling an ambulance, right?" she asked with a smile.

Ally nodded. "I got the number right here," she informed her, holding up the piece of paper.

Gabrielle looked down for a moment and hesitated before having Cori lead her to wherever she was going to do this. "I'm ready," she announced, lifting her head.

"Bathroom, under the sink," she instructed.

Gabrielle nodded. "Ally, I'm going to be wheezing and there is going to be some swelling. Tell them that you cannot currently find my epee pen, but you are looking for it. Go ahead and call," she ordered and then ran over to the bathroom.

Cori followed her and watched as Gabrielle nervously opened the doors below the sink and slid her finger over a mold covered area. Closing her eyes, she nervously took the mold and held it under her nose, taking in deep breaths and then went ahead and licked her finger.

"They'll be here in a few minutes," Ally announced as she entered the room.

"Working yet?" Cori asked. She could see that Gabrielle was starting to have a hard time breathing.

Gabrielle nodded as she washed her hands. Her chest was getting tighter and tighter. She could feel her throat slowly begin to swell. She was really having to try to breathe now. Everything then went blurry, she was light headed.

Cori and Ally exchanged looks and then closely watched Gabrielle as she began to sway, until she collapsed onto the floor.


	39. Risky Behavior part 2

Chapter 39: Risky Behavior (part 2)

Running. The only things she could hear were herself breathing and her foot steps against the dirt as she ran down the trail.

The darkness surrounded her, but she knew where she was.

Stopping to catch her breath, she leaned against a tree and started going through her messenger bag. As she looked down, she was grateful for the fact that she was wearing all black, she would blend in more. Pulling out a water bottle, she took as small of a sip that she possibly could and slid it back into her bag. It had to be saved.

Looking off to the right, she saw lights and darted into the woods as quickly as she possibly could and hid there as they passed by her. As soon as she was sure that they were gone, she started running deeper into the woods.

"Gabrielle?"

She froze. The voice, she knew that voice. "Mom?" she called out as she turned.

There was an open field to her left. Cautiously, she walked out there, into the sunlight. Her mother was sitting out there. "Mom?" she asked again as she approached her.

Maria looked to her and forced a small smile before looking back down. "You're not supposed to be here," she warned.

"I had to get away from her. You don't understand, she is a real bitch. She hates me, and trust me, I feel the same way towards her," Gabrielle desperately explained.

"That's not what I'm talking about," Maria responded.

"What do you mean?" she asked, starting to get scared.

Maria looked up and smiled to her. "You really don't know what you've done do you?" she questioned with disbelief.

Gabrielle shook her head.

Maria sighed and patted the grass next to her. "Come here,"

Gabrielle's eyes widened as she started thinking about what was going on. Now, she was too scared to move.

"You're not dead," Maria informed her. "Just very close, but you made it so there's nothing to worry about."

Gabrielle went ahead and sat down. She was able to take some comfort in her mother's words, even though she actually shouldn't be talking to her in the first place. "So I'm not dead?" she confirmed.

"Right," Maria answered. "Anyways, I think you should know what you've done though. Right after you got to the hospital, Cuddy was called and she called her mother over to watch the kids. She was told that you might not make it and started freaking out. She went ahead and called your father, and he is currently overdosing out in his car in the parking lot," she explained.

"Is he going to be okay?" Gabrielle nervously implored. The last thing that she wanted to happen was for House to slowly kill himself. She didn't even think about that.

Maria just shrugged. "Maybe," she flatly stated.

Oooooooooooooo

Gabrielle woke up, staring at the white ceiling. She was in a hospital room, good. The first thing she noticed, was that her neck was sore, but she didn't question it. As gently as she could, she turned her head to each side, to see that she was alone.

"Oh no," she softly gasped as tears started to form in her eyes. Her dream, it was all coming back to her. House could be out there dying and Cuddy is now being told that he won't make it.

And it was all her fault. There was nothing that she could do about it now. Nothing at all. She just went back to staring up at the ceiling.

"Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle looked over and saw Cuddy. She forced a smile as she waved to her.

Cuddy walked over and smiled down to her. She seemed to let out a small sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Gabrielle sat herself up a little and pointed to her neck. "What happened?' she questioned, her voice raspier than she thought it would be.

"Your throat was closed up so they put a tube in there," Cuddy explained. "And the same for a little bit lower down. The swelling had started to spread down your esophagus."

Gabrielle nodded. She could tell that Cuddy was still on edge, and started to feel extremely bad for what she had done. She motioned for Cuddy to come closer and then hugged her.

Cuddy pulled back and smiled to her. "Need anything?" she offered.

Gabrielle shook her head. All she wanted to know right now was where her daddy was, and whether or not her dream had been true. Most of it was true so far, but that was also the things that she knew. Even though she didn't really think it through before hand, she knew that she could have died if something went wrong, and it should have been obvious that Cuddy would have been worried. Those things were common sense. House though, she knew that he could easily over dose without even trying.

Scratching at her nose, she just realized that she had an oxygen tube.

"Don't play with that," Cuddy warned as she saw her start to fuss with it.

Gabrielle put both of her hands up in the air and then set them down on her lap. Curious, she went ahead and felt for the stitches on her neck. Right after she found them, she started down towards her chest and lifted her gown to look for the second place. Briefly seeing them once was enough to send a chill down her back. It finally set in, she almost killed herself. She knew it all along, but it just didn't hit her until now.

She looked over and saw Cuddy sitting in the chair, blankly staring ahead.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Gabrielle said.

Cuddy quickly looked up to her with confusion. "Don't be. I know it was an accident. Cori and Ally came and told me what happened. Just be more careful from now on," she stated.

Gabrielle nodded. She found it a little odd that they came out here just to tell Cuddy what happened, but then again, Ally looked scared from the beginning. They both probably wanted to double check and make sure that she was going to be okay.

"Daddy?" Gabrielle implored. She had to ask. Just sitting there and worrying wasn't going to get her any answers.

Cuddy looked to her with sympathy. "He knows," she started.

Gabrielle held her hand up. She knew that he wasn't there. From the beginning, she knew that he wouldn't be there until it was guaranteed that she was going to be okay. She understood that. At the same time though, she did wish that he was there.

"Wilson's watching him. That's all I know," Cuddy admitted.

Oooooooooooo

"Damn it House!" Wilson yelled. He had to go out and run a test on one of his patients. Now, as he entered the room, he saw House passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of pills on the floor.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute," he hissed as he ran over and checked hid pulse. It as there, very weak and irregular, but it was there. "I guess I should have checked your office more thoroughly before leaving," he noted to himself. He had taken two bottles with him, but now that he thought about it, he was stupid to believe that that was all he had.

Without hesitating, he got up and rushed to the phone to call for someone down in the ER to come get him.


	40. Risky Behavior part 3

Chapter 40: Risky Behavior (part 3)

Most of the day had past and it was now starting to get dark outside. Gabrielle's throat was still bothering her a little, but not as much as earlier, and she was now able to go without the oxygen tube.

"When do I get to go home?" Gabrielle asked. She was starting to feel better, and the room was starting to annoy her.

"Tomorrow, they just want to keep you over night," Cuddy answered.

Gabrielle nodded and then suddenly noticed something. She didn't know what day it was. "And that would be?" she questioned.

Cuddy laughed. "Saturday," she replied.

"Thanks," Gabrielle said.

"Yeah," Cuddy responded. She would never let Gabrielle know just how scared she had been over the past twenty four hours. When she got the call, she was nervous, then, when she found out that Gabrielle might not even make it, she was terrified. An hour later, she was told that Gabrielle was going to be okay, but for that hour, she didn't know what she was going to do. Losing three people in one week was too much.

"You know, if you're tired and want to go home, you can," Gabrielle offered, even though she liked having someone there with her. It wasn't entirely fair though, her little sisters needed Cuddy more than she did.

"I'm fine," Cuddy assured her. To be completely honest, she wanted to be there and made sure that everything stayed okay. She also wanted to make sure that House at least stopped in. It was starting to anger her that he wasn't there. Not showing up when she needed him was one thing, but this was his daughter that almost died.

Cuddy stood up and sighed. "I'm going to go grab something to eat, you want anything?" she asked.

"No thanks," Gabrielle responded.

Cuddy headed out the room and went straight over to Wilson's office. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. This could be her first time seeing him since he left.

Wilson got up and opened the door. "Cuddy," he said with disappointment.

Cuddy's face fell. "What happened?" she nervously questioned.

Wilson sighed and started to scratch the back of his head. "Well," he started. "He's in room two thirty seven. About seven hours ago, he got his stomach pumped," he explained.

"Thank you," Cuddy responded and then stormed down the hall to the stairs. She didn't have time to wait for the elevator.

As soon as she got to the room, she just rushed in. "Good, you're awake," she stated as she stood at the end of his bed.

"Oh shit," House breathed out. He knew that sometime he would have to talk to her again. And quite honestly, he was hoping that he would get to see her again. Now though, was not the time.

Cuddy stood there and coldly stared to him. "First, you leave without any warning! And now, while Gabrielle is in the hospital, instead of growing a pair and going to see her, you drug yourself!" she sternly announced, trying her hardest to keep her voice down.

"I left you because I was ruining your life," House defended himself.

Cuddy folded her arms. "And leaving when I needed you helped me so much," she sneered. "Don't you think you should have talked to me?" she implored.

"Don't give me that. You were there the last few weeks, and you know how things were. Don't you dare stand there acting like I had nothing to do with how bad things were," he argued.

"What was so bad?" Cuddy asked. She was truly interested in hearing this.

House just stared at her. "You were stressed out, and then you and Gabi were fighting," he started to explain. "Then you lost the baby," he said.

"And you obviously caused all of that," she remarked. When she didn't get a response, she just shrugged in defeat. "I don't know Greg, what do you want me to say? Thank you? Thank you for walking out on me when I needed you? Thank you for leaving me with the responsibility of four kids?"

"In the long run you will," he snapped. He was getting tired of her standing there and telling him that all he did was make things worse. He had to restrain himself a bit though. Just like he did with Gabrielle right before he left.

"I can't believe this," Cuddy stated under her breath.

"Fine!" House yelled. "You want an apology? Here, I'm sorry that I fucked up your life, and then made you sad when I left. I'm sorry that there is nothing I can do to help Elisabeth. I'm sorry that there is nothing I can do to help you get over losing the baby. There. Good enough?" he angrily asked.

Cuddy laughed in spite of his answer. "No!" she responded. "It's not! When are you going to realize that just because everything isn't perfect doesn't mean that you can just run away? Yes, it is hard for all of us to live together at times, but so what? I didn't run away when Elisabeth got sick! And even though I lost a baby, I'm still here. You can't just leave everyone and everything behind," she argued.

Cuddy took a moment to try and calm herself down a little. "And you can't keep protecting yourself from feeling anything," she added.

"Maybe you had better stop worrying about me and start taking care of your family," House stated.

Cuddy just looked to him and shook his head. "Don't you dare take this off of you!" she warned. "And it's your family too. Remember that daughter of yours? The one that you should be seeing right now?" she implored. "She'll understand though when I tell her that you were too busy self medicating yourself," she stabbed.

"That's my point. Fifteen years going between Maria the wine-o and Eloise the child beater and she's fine. A week alone with you and she's already almost died once. At least while I was drinking and 'self medicating' at home I could still be trusted to keep the kids alive," he bitterly informed her.

Cuddy just coldly stared to him. "Fuck you," she replied and then left the room with tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't take him anymore.

House just sighed and leaned his head back. He should have bit his tongue, but it was too late now.

Ooooooooooooooo

Gabrielle sat in her bed. She wasn't stupid, she knew what Cuddy was doing. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. She was down there looking for House, or talking to him if she had succeeded in finding him.

"You got in a fight with him didn't you?" Gabrielle asked as soon as Cuddy walked into the room and sat down.

"What?" she questioned. Trying to hide the fact that she had been crying a little.

Gabrielle sighed as she sat back and folded her arms. "You tell me that you are going to get food. Twenty minutes later, and you come back with nothing and look like you want to kill someone," she explained. "The only person that seems to be able to do that to you is daddy," she stated.

Cuddy sighed. "Fine, I talked to him," she confessed, simply because she did not want to have an argument now. She was done for the day.

Gabrielle just let it go. Now was not the time to be poking at her for information that she could easily get later on. Besides, she didn't have to ask to know that it didn't go well. It made her feel bad though. Everything that happened now, she knew that she could blame herself. Although, no matter what, the first time that those two saw each other after what he did, there was bound to be a fight.

Even though she was going to leave the fight alone, there was something digging away at her, something that she just had to know. "Did he OD? Just yes or no and I'll leave it at that," Gabrielle promised.

Cuddy looked to her with some sort of fascination. "Yes," she answered, confused.

"Just a dream I had," Gabrielle explained.

"What else did you see?" Cuddy questioned. She was interested to see if she was right about anything else.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Not much. I don't even remember much of it anymore. The only part I remember is my mom, in her own way basically telling me that my accident gave you a panic attack and is killing my daddy," she answered. She then looked to her. "Oh yeah, and your mom is currently watching the kids," she added. It was something random that came to mind, but it was better than the other two things she had listed.

"Greg's going to be fine, physically," Cuddy remarked, somewhat bitter.

Gabrielle knew that she was pissed at him, that if she could, she would probably kill him right now. In all honesty, she couldn't blame her. There was a difference though, Gabrielle wasn't mad at him for this. Leaving them? Yes. But this? No. "Look, I'm still mad at him for leaving too. I was down there telling him not too, and he left anyways. And I'll admit, I don't know what he said to you. But him not coming to see me is between me and him, and personally, I can't get mad at him for not coming, I wasn't able to go see him, why should he come see me? The pills though? Well, I'll kill him for you on that one," Gabrielle told her.

"I was wrong when I said you two are just a like, you're more mature," Cuddy said.

Gabrielle softly laughed at the comment. She knew that there were times in which she was the grown up and he was the child. Especially at times like these in which something was wrong. Days in which she would have to go sit with Cuddy just to make sure that she wasn't alone while she was scared and then go off to get House and wait for him to sober up.

"What room is he in?" she inquired.

Cuddy sighed. "No Gabi, you need to stay here and rest," Cuddy ordered.

"Please?" Gabrielle begged. "I just want to talk to him for two minutes. Besides, I'm staying in the hospital, its not like I'm going down the street or something," she tried to reason.

Cuddy stood up and sighed. "Come on, I'll walk you there," she stated.

Gabrielle smiled and carefully got up and joined her. "Thank you," she said.

"Sure," Cuddy breathed out. It truly astonished her. No matter what that man did, this young girl was willing to always forgive him, to always give him another chance. She was always happy to go see him. Not that she herself was all that firm with him, there were hundreds of times that they had fought and she forgave him. It was just that Gabrielle was so much more willing right away to move on than she was.

They took the elevator and then headed down the hall. Cuddy stopped right outside of his room and stood there. "I'll wait for you out here," she stated.

Gabrielle looked to her. "He must've really said something to you," she said and then went into the room. "Hey daddy," she greeted as she went and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"What?" he asked. He was still irritated from earlier.

"Nothing really," she started. "Just wondering how fucking stupid a doctor has to be to overdose on his own meds," she stated.

House sighed. "Yeah, I'm the stupid one. You go under sink, where a lot of times there is mold, and pass out, leaving your things in the car. It's not like you already knew that you were allergic to mold," he retorted. He knew that she must have done it on purpose, she was smarter than that. The only reason he didn't say anything was because he had figured that Cuddy was right outside and he didn't want her hearing that Gabrielle would plan out something like that.

"Seriously? I mean, all I had to do was go under a sink. You had to of gone through like four bottles to even get close to ODing. God, with the way that you go through those pills I'm surprised that you still can overdose," Gabrielle argued.

"I'm just really talented," he explained.

"I thought so," she responded.

A silence fell between the two. Gabrielle knew that she should bring up coming back home. Instead of saying that though, she decided to take a different route. "Look," she sighed. "I don't know what was said between you two, but I think that you should apologize to Lisa," she quietly stated, trying to make sure that Cuddy didn't hear her.

"Why?" House questioned, even though he knew why. The minute that he insulted her, he knew that he was wrong.

"Because, she deserves it," Gabrielle answered. "Let's face it, she has put up with a lot of shit lately, and I know you. You know exactly what to say and when to say it when it comes to hurting people. I don't doubt that you took a stab at her," she explained. Really, she did think that Cuddy deserved a break. She also knew that it wasn't too often that Greg House apologized, so this would have to be the best thing to get her.

"Later, not now," he offered. He had already gotten her mad for the night. She wasn't about to listen to him now.

"Right, she probably wouldn't accept anything now anyways," Gabrielle agreed. She then sighed and offered him a smile. "Bye daddy," she said and then leaned over and hugged him.

"It wouldn't kill you to hug back," she informed him. "I mean, I almost died."

House gave up and slightly hugged back, but then quickly pulled away. "Bye," he said.

Gabrielle just laughed. "So loving," she commented and then left the room. She walked out and met up with Cuddy. "I think I'm ready to go to sleep now," she said.

"Sounds good to me," Cuddy replied.


	41. Everything's Not Lost

Chapter 41: Everything's Not Lost

Gabrielle sat on the couch in the living room. She had just gotten home not too long ago and was on the phone with Andy.

"Really," she assured him. "I'm fine, it was just a small, little allergic reaction. I'm already home," she told him. She softly laughed. "I know, I slightly lost my voice, but it sounds a lot better than it did yesterday. Really, it sounds worse than it is," she reassured him.

Cuddy walked into the room with Elisabeth and set her down in the play pen. As soon as she set Elisabeth down, she went to go get Jessica.

Gabrielle smiled over to Elisabeth as she listened to Andy on the phone. Her face suddenly dropped. He asked about how things went with trying to get House back. "Listen, I'll call you back later okay?" she offered. Right now, she just wasn't up to talking about that. "Bye," she said and then hung up the phone.

"Well hello there," she said to Elisabeth who was closely watching her. "Are you trying to stare me down?" she questioned as she got up and went over to the playpen.

Elisabeth put her hands up as she blankly watched Gabrielle. "Alright, come here," Gabrielle sighed as she picked her up. She took her over to the couch and set her on her lap.

"Gabrielle, you shouldn't be doing that," Cuddy insisted as she walked in with Jessica and set her down.

Gabrielle looked to her and sighed. "Mom, I'm fine. I mean, she's a little baby and she's just sitting on my lap," she argued.

"Okay," Cuddy replied in defeat. She had to go take care of Rachel and didn't really want to argue. Besides, she could see that Gabrielle wasn't wearing herself down just by holding Elisabeth.

Gabrielle turned her attention back to Elisabeth and smiled. "And what do you think you're looking at?" she teased.

Elisabeth poked up at the stitches on her neck and then laughed. Gabrielle just slightly backed away from her. "You're morbid," she stated. Although, there wasn't much that she could say after what she had just done. "I hope you're a lot different than I am," she softly whispered.

Ooooooooooooo

Gabrielle sat on the kitchen floor as she bounced a ball off the cabinet across from her. It was late at night, and the house was quiet. It was perfect for her to think. She needed to get House to promise to come back here and talk to Cuddy.

He did say at the hospital that he would apologize, but she didn't know whether or not to actually trust him.

All she knew though, was that it couldn't be anything like her last idea. Never again. He might talk to her now, hopefully. It wasn't like he could just cut her out of his life. She wouldn't let him.

"You sure you should still be up?" Cuddy questioned.

Gabrielle caught the ball and looked up to her and grinned. "Anyone ever tell you that you're over protective?" she asked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and went and sat down next to Gabrielle on the floor. "I'm sorry," she said.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Don't be. I like it for a change," she replied and then started throwing the ball again. "I got to live just about every kid's dream and went out and did what ever I wanted. Don't get me wrong, it's nice for a while, but then it starts sinking in," she started to explain, and then paused to turn to Cuddy as she caught the ball. "No one gives a damn about whether or not you even come back home," she stated and then went back to bouncing the ball off the cabinet.

Cuddy internally cringed. She hated hearing that, but she tried not to let it show. "I can't see you just going out and doing whatever," she responded. After all this time, being responsible and helping with the babies, it was just hard to picture her going out and getting in trouble.

Gabrielle laughed. "You forget about the tattoo?" she implored.

"No," Cuddy answered. "But a tattoo doesn't mean everything," she argued.

Gabrielle sighed. She knew that she had told a few stories before. Maybe she just left out some details or Cuddy was too tired to remember. "Trust me, I did a lot of things that I shouldn't have done. Really, I shouldn't even be alive right now with some of the things I tried," she informed her. "Just because I got good grades doesn't mean that I didn't go out."

Cuddy could agree to that one. She sat back against the counter and smiled as she thought back to high school. "I remember right after prom, we all went out and got drunk at my friend's house. My date tried to jump off the roof with a bed sheet tied around his neck. I was his Lois Lane, and he was going to jump from the roof to the tree branch that I was on and save me," she said.

Gabrielle laughed. "That couldn't have ended well," she responded.

"Nope," Cuddy answered, not wanting to go into anymore details.

Gabrielle thought for a moment about whether or not she should tell her one of her stories. She finally decided that it would be okay. "One time, I went to my friend's house, and we started drinking. The next morning, I woke up in Port Clinton under a dock with a bathing suit on, and two of my friends out on a raft in Lake Erie," she said. "I think the others were back in the van, I can't really remember."

"How old were you?" Cuddy nervously asked.

"Thirteen," she replied.

Cuddy just nodded and then stared down at her hands. She knew that if any of her kids did that, she would be screaming at them. They would have no life after that.

Gabrielle could see that she disturbed her a bit and decided that it was time to change the subject. "What happened yesterday between you and daddy?" she implored. It was a touchy question, but she wanted to know. She had to know.

"We just got in a fight. I told him that he was wrong in thinking that leaving was a good thing for him to do," she answered.

"Then what did he say to chase you out?" Gabrielle asked. She knew that there had to be a lot more than that that happened. They could both be stubborn.

Cuddy sighed. "He mentioned the fact that you were fine with a child beater and wine-o and then when you were left alone with me you almost died," she explained.

"Well, that is a good one, I'll give him that," Gabrielle mentioned and then stopped and turned to her. "But, you know that he's wrong, right? I mean, common sense would tell you that I'm a lot better off here than I was back then."

Cuddy was offended by the comment at first. "I guess I have no common sense then," she admitted.

"Well, he struck a nerve while you were a little stressed out. I mean, he probably could have called you a stinky head and you would have taken some offense," Gabrielle explained.

"A little stressed," Cuddy stated under her breath and then laughed in spite. "I was told you most likely would die, and you think I was only a little stressed."

Gabrielle looked to her with sympathy. "But I didn't," she softly argued.

"I know," Cuddy responded. Just a week ago, she had lost her baby, and since then she had been a bit more protective of her kids. She would make sure to double check the cribs and make sure that there was nothing in there that could hurt them during the night, and then she would watch them more closely during the day. The one that she didn't think she had to watch as closely was the one that almost slipped away.

"And daddy's going to come back. I don't know when, but he has to come back sometime. He likes you too much," Gabrielle added.

"I hope you're right about that one," Cuddy stated as she looked up to her.

"Come on, when am I wrong?" she joked.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I think I'm gonna go back up to bed," she said and then stood up.

"Good night," Gabrielle said.

"Good night," Cuddy responded and then left the room.

Gabrielle sat there and thought for a moment. "He has to come back," she told herself.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gabrielle walked into the kitchen and saw Cuddy cleaning the twins after their lunch. She then looked over and saw Rachel sitting in her high chair. "Hi," she greeted.

"Hi," Rachel chirped.

"Hi," Gabrielle repeated.

"Hi," Rachel said.

Gabrielle laughed and then headed over to the fridge to grab something to drink.

"Gaba!" Rachel called over.

"Yes?" she responded as she turned back to her.

"Take!" Rachel demanded.

Cuddy turned back and laughed. "You can go ahead and take her out into the living room," she said.

"Okay kid," Gabrielle said as she walked over to her. "Looks like you got your way this time," she stated as she picked her up out of the high chair. "Now, onto explore the ever exciting living room. You think you can handle it?"

"Take!" Rachel ordered.

Gabrielle turned to Cuddy. "A brave child really," she remarked and then headed out to the living room. She was about to sit down on the floor with her, but there was a knock at the door. "This could be Andy, you remember him?" she asked.

Rachel just giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes," Gabrielle responded. She opened the door and saw House standing outside with a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear.

"Dadda!" Rachel squealed.

Cuddy rushed out into the living room and stopped as soon as she saw him. "Greg," she gasped.

"Cuddles," he responded and then held up the gifts. "I got you something," he mentioned.

Cuddy just stood there with her arms folded.


	42. Apologies

Chapter 42: Apologies

House stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Hey," he greeted, all too casually. "What's up?" he questioned.

Gabrielle shook her head to him. That was not the right way to start off. She then nervously looked over to see Cuddy standing there, arms crossed, glaring at him. Slowly, she went back to watching House to see what he was going to do next.

"Hey," Cuddy coldly responded.

There was another knock at the door. "I've got it," Gabrielle called. She positioned Rachel back on her hip and opened the door. "Andy," she said as she rolled her eyes.

Gabrielle stepped aside and left Andy enter into the house. "I got you these," he said to Gabrielle as he handed her a small bouquet of roses. Right after handing her the flowers though, he looked up and saw the two standing there, staring at each other. "I came at the wrong time didn't I?" he questioned.

Gabrielle handed Rachel over to Andy. "Save yourself and take her into the kitchen. I'll be there in a minute," she instructed.

"All right," Andy answered. He awkwardly carried the girl with him into the kitchen. He had an idea of what was going on out there and wasn't about to stick around to find out whether or not he was right. There was also the fact that he knew that he would be able to hear everything from the kitchen.

House looked over to Gabrielle. "You can go in there too," he stated.

Gabrielle laughed. "You kidding? I'm the only reason she hasn't killed you yet," she informed him.

House rolled his eyes and then went over to Cuddy and held out the gifts. "I'm sorry," he breathed out.

Cuddy just looked down at the flowers and teddy bear for a moment. She had been hurt, and here he was handing her things. It wasn't that she wasn't going to forgive him, she just wanted to make sure that he knew what he was apologizing for. Cuddy then looked up to Gabrielle. "Why don't you go join Andy?" she tensely asked. She didn't want her giving him any hints or standing up for him.

Gabrielle nodded and then went straight to the kitchen. She walked in and saw Andy sitting at the table looking down at a half empty glass of water. "Thanks for the roses," she mentioned as she went over and sat on the counter.

"How's it going in there?" Andy questioned.

Gabrielle shrugged. She handed the roses back to Andy and positioned herself to try and listen in on what was going on.

"Take!" Rachel demanded from her high chair.

Gabrielle cringed. "Rachel? If you're quiet, I'll take you outside to play, all right?" she offered.

"Pay out!" the little girl squealed.

Gabrielle then looked over to Andy. "Do me a favor and keep her entertained?" she asked.

Andy huffed. "I don't know what to do," he replied.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Listen, I'm not going to school tomorrow, so you can spend the night. I promise you, if you keep her quiet so I can listen in, I will return the favor," she informed him.

Andy shrugged and went over and grabbed a few blocks off the table and set them in front of her on the high chair.

Oooooooooooooo

"Are you sorry? Or are you just saying it?" she questioned.

House sighed. "Well we all know that I throw apologies around like there's no tomorrow," he responded.

"What are you apologizing for?" she questioned. She was starting to get sick of his smart ass answers. All she wanted to know was whether or not he truly felt bad for what he did.

"I shouldn't have left," he finally forced the words out.

Cuddy could hear the strain in his voice. "You still think you're right don't you?" she questioned. She wasn't really mad at him for that, he did still come back. She just needed him to know why it hurt her so bad. She needed to be reassured that it wouldn't happen again.

Not getting a response right away, Cuddy just nodded. She acknowledged the fact the he restrained from making another smart comment though, she could see it written on his face that he had a few answers to that question.

Trying to keep herself calm, she went and sat down on the steps. "I needed you Greg, and you weren't there. Do you know how bad that hurts?" she coldly implored. She made sure to keep eye contact with him.

"You didn't need me," he argued. "You needed the baby you lost, you needed someone who could actually handle this type of life. I'm the last thing you need," he stated. He went and set the things down on the table. "Besides, what the hell was I supposed to do? Tell you that everything would be okay? Pretend that nothing happened? I couldn't do anything for you, I couldn't fix anything," he harshly explained.

"I didn't need someone to fix everything Greg! I just needed someone there," she said with tears forming. "I just didn't want to be alone. Something as simple as just holding my hand would have sufficed," she explained.

"That wouldn't have helped anything," House stated.

"It would've helped me," Cuddy replied.

House just sighed and leaned back against the wall. He knew he had hurt her, he just didn't want to face it. "Sorry," he said.

"Why are you so afraid to feel any pain?" she questioned. "I mean, anything goes wrong, you run off and numb yourself. You nearly killed yourself a few days ago,"

House glared to her. "Is it so bad to hate the idea of your daughter dying?" he sneered.

"No," Cuddy replied. "But it's selfish to run off and think that you are the only one that's hurting. She's in the room finding out that she could've died and you're off popping pills to try and avoid the fact that anything happened," Cuddy explained. She stood up and placed herself before him. "I sat there and dealt with the fact that she almost died while you went ahead and acted like a little kid, thinking that you were the only person there who had gotten hurt. You go off and nearly flaunt the fact that you have a chance to run away from pain that other people can't avoid," she said.

House just stared down to her. "I don't want to run away," he distantly replied.

Cuddy nodded and looked down. She knew that he was sorry. She was just wondering exactly what that meant. She then looked back up to him and kissed him. She went to pull back, but he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm here now," he announced.

"I know," Cuddy responded and then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She was still upset with him, but it was over with. He came back.


	43. Mixed Blessings

Chapter 43: Mixed Blessings

Gabrielle looked over to Andy and sighed. "I can't hear them anymore," she said. "I don't know what's going on anymore out there."

Andy sat there playing blocks with Rachel. "Maybe there is nothing going on out there. They could be having another stare down like they were earlier," he suggested.

Gabrielle laughed as she jumped down from the counter. "Right, there's nothing going on out there. That's like saying that you can breathe under water. It's never going to happen. They are never going to be doing nothing after she gets mad at him," she explained.

"Well, they're not yelling at each other," Andy offered. He knew that she was worried about them, but standing there trying to guess what was going on wasn't going to help anything. It was out of her hands, and she didn't seem to know that.

Gabrielle leaned back against the counter and nodded. "This is true," she agreed.

Oooooooooooooooooo

House and Cuddy stood at the base of the stairs, kissing. Cuddy pulled back from him and blankly stared up into his eyes. There was still hurt that was visible as she began to cry. She rested her head on his chest. He embraced her, held her as the tears fell.

"Why did you come back?" Cuddy questioned. All this time he thought he was right, there had to have been something to convince him he was wrong. Either that, or there was something that made it okay to be wrong. What ever it was though, she wanted to know.

House gently pushed her back. "I missed your ass," he stated. A smirk forming on his face. He knew that she wanted a serious answer, but there was none to give her. He just simply loved her and wanted to come back.

Cuddy dropped her head in defeat and softly laughed. "Lovely," she replied. It wasn't what she was looking for, but she wasn't going to argue.

"Why did you forgive me?" he asked. Even though they weren't being all that serious at the moment, there was still something in his expression that caught her a little off guard.

Cuddy sighed as she looked him over. "I think I missed your ass too," she answered. Really, she didn't know. In the back of her head, she knew that he would always be pulling the same stunts over and over again. He was never going to fully grow up and stick around every single time he was needed. He was, however, the only man that she was willing to allow to do that. "That and I lost Lucas' number," she teased.

"Ouch," House mocked. "Anything he can do, I can do better," he informed her. Even though he was kidding, that was still a subject that he tried to avoid.

"He can walk," Cuddy responded.

"Now that was just mean," House replied. "And right when we were making up to," he pouted.

Cuddy smiled to him. "Don't worry, what I want to do tonight doesn't involve walking," she said and then grabbed his hand and started leading him into the kitchen. "Now come on, I know one young lady that is dying to know what's going on out here," she stated.

"We can just go upstairs and let her guess," House suggested.

They entered into the kitchen. "You two are relieved from babysitting, this man here has a lot to make up for," Cuddy announced.

Gabrielle smiled the second that she saw House enter the room. They were staying together. "Limpy's back," Gabrielle announced.

"That hurt," House pouted.

"Let me get back to you when I can act like I care," she said. Gabrielle then looked over to Andy. "You two mind if the two of us go out for a little bit if we watch the kids for you tonight?" she questioned.

Andy just glared to her. He came to see her, not spend his time watching three babies.

"Sure," Cuddy answered. She figured that they could use the alone time anyways.

"All right, let me go fix myself up a bit," she said before she started to leave the room.

"You look fine," House argued. He hated the idea of her dating, let alone making herself more appealing to her date.

Gabrielle stopped and turned back to him. "But, I want to be a pretty girl," she pouted and then continued to her room.

"You'd better check with me before you leave this house!" he called out to her.

Andy felt brave for a moment and turned and looked up to House. "You know sir, I can always just ask her for a picture, and she would probably give me one of her wearing something like a bathing suit," he informed him.

"You get a picture from her and she'll be receiving a picture of you with this cane shoved so far up your ass you'll be choking on it," House warned.

Cuddy lightly hit him. "Remember she copies," she hissed.

"Dadda! Ass!" Rachel squealed.

"Thank you Greg," Cuddy said, getting annoyed.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Gabrielle and Andy sat down at the restaurant. "You know, I do feel better knowing that I was right," Gabrielle announced.

Andy looked up to her and laughed. "Good?" he asked.

Gabrielle took a sip of her drink and smirked to him. "Come on, don't you think that it's kind of cute. No matter what, he'll always go back to her and she'll always take him back," she explained. Briefly pausing, she shrugged. "It's kind of like a reassurance, you know?"

"Of what?" Andy questioned. He knew that she was happy about everything that had happened today, but he had no clue where she was going with this.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "You really do have a lot of open space in your head don't you?" she questioned and then sighed. "It's like, no matter what happens between them, they'll end up back together. Like how every disney movie ends, they could be punished and tortured but the end is always happy and they go off and live together," she tried to clarify what she had been saying.

Andy leaned forward on the table and slightly laughed. "You know, there is one thing that I will never, ever get about you," he informed her.

"What's that?" Gabrielle implored.

"You always have this grim outlook, and then out of no where you're telling me that everything has a happy ending," he answered and then sat back. "I think you're bipolar."

"That's not the definition of being bipolar. I can act it out though if you are interested," she offered.

Andy just shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he declined. "Although, I would like to know what you think of the world. Right now, at this very second," he requested.

Gabrielle looked off to the right and then to the left and then leaned forward closer to Andy. "It's a filthy world we live in. It's a filthy, Goddamn, helpless world," she said and then sat back and smirked.

"Cute," Andy replied.

Gabrielle shrugged. "You have to admit, there's a lot truth to that. There will always be disasters and criminals and death and destruction that we won't be able to control. And it is going to ruin our lives to an extent. Optimism isn't seeing the world as always good and overlooking the bad, it's knowing how to deal with the bad and seeing a bright side to it," she explained. "And right now, my bright side, or glimmer of optimism is knowing that those two dysfunctional human beings known as my parents, aren't going to just completely abandon me," she informed him.

"I'll have to admit, ever since I've been going there, a lot has been going on," Andy mentioned.

"Right? And that's not even all of it," Gabrielle stated.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

That night, Gabrielle and Andy took the kids over to Cuddy's mother's house so that House and Cuddy could have the place to themselves.

House sat on the couch with his arms around Cuddy as she leaned on him. "I have to ask you something," Cuddy informed him. "You never said anything after I lost the baby," she started and then sat up and looked to him. "Did you really want it?"

House furrowed his brow. "Of course, I needed a boy around here. I'm getting sick of everything being about you girls," he answered. Really, that was how he felt. Not that he was tired of the girls, but he did want a son.

"You never know, it could've been another little girl," Cuddy informed him as she laid back down on him. "Then you would have been surrounded by six of us girls."

"Something tells me that it's going to be a lot of fun around here when those three become teenagers," he sarcastically remarked.

"It won't be that bad," Cuddy replied.

"Liar."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "I can already tell that Elisabeth is going to be a lot like you. She stares at everything, watches everything. After Gabrielle came home with the stitches, she held was carrying her around up in the nursery, and then I took her. Right after I took her, started poking at my neck where Gabi's stitches were on her's," Cuddy told him. "So she'll most likely be more 'rational'."

House grinned. He had seen a bit of himself in her. Not in her looks, she definitely had Cuddy's eyes, but in the way she examined everything. She was the only person he knew that could spend twenty minutes playing with a single button on his shirt and not get bored. "There's nothing wrong with that," he defended himself.

"Look where it's gotten you," Cuddy jabbed at him.

"Yeah," House responded. "On the couch with a hot woman."

"I love you. I don't know why, but I love you," Cuddy said.

House looked down to her. "That's odd. I love you too," he responded. "But the real question is, how much do you love me?"

Cuddy laughed. She knew what he wanted. "Try this," she said. Cuddy stood up off the couch and then grabbed his shoulders and pinned him to couch and knelt down over him and started kissing him. After a moment, she pulled back. "How's that?" she asked.

"You could try asking little Greg for a more accurate answer," he told her.

Cuddy just went back to kissing him. He wrapped his arms around her and then slid his hands up her shirt and started taking her bra off. "You wanna take this upstairs?" she offered.

"What ever the mistress wants," he answered.

"Then come on," she said as she got up off the couch.

House got up and followed her up the stairs.

The End.

**First off, sorry if the American Horror Story references bothered or annoyed anyone. I watched a lot of that show today, so it was definitely on my mind when I went to write this. **

**Thank you to all of those who have reviewed. I hope that you all enjoyed this story. **

**And a special note to IHeartHouseCuddy, I hope my story did not give you any nightmares, lol. Although, what I did with this couple wasn't nearly as bad as what David Shore did to them. **


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